Why Didn't the USSR Build An X-15? In the history of aerospace engineering in the United States, the X-15 is lauded as a critical and necessary step on the path to manned spaceflight. Throttle-able chemical rocket propulsion systems, reaction controls, and pressurized flight suits were all major design features of the X-15 that eventually found their way into future successful spacecraft. 

Given the obvious resources the USSR put into the space race and their numerous successful missions, why did they never build a hypersonic space-plane akin to the X-15?
I like the X-15, it was certainly an amazing airplane, but the truth is there were few benefits to the space program from the X-15.  It was far from a critical or necessary step:


The Mercury space suit was a direct derivative of the BF Goodrich Navy Mark IV, which had been in use for years. It wasn't developed for the X-15
The rockets used in the space program were completely different from the X-15. They were orders of magnitude stronger for one thing, used different fuels and completely different designs. Throttle-able rocket propulsion systems weren't new
The X-15 thermal protection system was of no use to the space program, which had to deal with far higher temperatures 


There were some benefits:


It was a good source of astronauts: several pilot from the program went on to the NASA programs, including Neil Armstrong
Data from the X-15 missions were used in the X-20 Dyna Soar spaceplane which never flew, but it eventually morphed into the space shuttle


As to why didn't the Soviets make one, they didn't need it. Their manned space program built off of their ICBM development efforts which were successful. If the US hadn't built the X-15 the manned space program would most likely never gone the space shuttle route, but that wouldn't have been any sort of deal breaker.