[Utah-astronomy] Heat Shield Technology

If I remember correctly, back in the 60's and 70's while U.S. manned spaceflights ended with a splash in the ocean, Soviet manned spaceflights landed on earth in Soviet territory. What were the technological differences between our parachute-and-heat shield-system, and the way the Soviets did it? Why did the two systems evolve differently--was it merely because the U.S. had more extensive freedom on the seas? Other than the fact that our space capsules "dropped" (?) through the atmosphere, and the space shuttle "glides"(?) down, and the shuttle's heat shield is made of tiles, how has our system evolved since the Apollo program? Mike Bailey