Short answers, pulled from the story.
The R-7 Semyorka measured 28 meters long and weighed 280 tons upon launch with a diameter of 10.3 meters. It used liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants in four strap-on boosters and a central sustainer engine.
The first successful long flight occurred on the 21st of August 1957 covering 6,000 kilometers. A second successful test took place on the 7th of September 1957 also traveling 6,000 kilometers.
Design work began at OKB-1 in Kaliningrad under the leadership of Sergei Korolev. Valentin Glushko's OKB-456 combined four combustion chambers using a single turbo pump for each booster.
Approval was granted for a new facility in Kazakhstan known today as the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the 12th of February 1955. The strategic missile unit went on alert status at Plesetsk on the 15th of December 1959.
Over 1,840 launches have utilized some form of the original design since its inception. More than 50 years of service with various modifications make it one of the most reliable space launchers globally.