Soyuz carries 3 people and a limited amount of supplies. Shuttle can carrry at least 6 and I think 8 and big honkin pieces of a space station or planetary probes like Galileo. They are not the same class of launch vehicle at all. A more valid comparison is in cost per pound launched, but even that is simplistic, because the shuttle does more than launch pounds. The Soyuz is cheaper, but not by nearly as much and by an amount more in line with differences in purchasing power and other macro-economic factors.

Still I agree whole heatedly that we need to move beyond the shuttle and that it has accomplished little overall in advancing manned space flight compared to the money spent on it.

see ya