Buryatia's population at the end of the Soviet Union decreased for some time, according to data. It is currently increasing again. A little bit more than half of the population live in cities and towns. Most of the people that live in cities and towns live in the capital, Ulan-Ude. Ethnic Buryats are about one third of the population. Russians mostly make up the other two-thirds of the population. Most ethnic Buryats practice a religion that is mixed with Buddhism and Shamanism, which is a belief that worships spirits and nature. On the other hand, ethnic Russians mostly practice Orthodox Christianity. Russian is taught and used commonly in Buryatia. But the Buryat language is still taught in some schools and is used mostly at home.