was so great that the shamans had to seek protection from Russian authorities. The rise of the Bolsheviks in the first quarter of the twentieth century also led to the brutal repression of all religions which included the faiths in the Altai region. For the next few decades, most religions basically vanished with only shamanistic and ancient polytheistic beliefs surviving the chaos. This was believed to have occurred because ancient religious beliefs could be easily orally transmitted from generation to another. It's also likely that no Burkhanist texts survived the repression and main sources for the beliefs of the religion come from Russian missionaries, travellers, and scholars. Modern spirituality Recently, Burkhanism and shamanism has seen a revival in the Altai region which is especially popular among Altaian youth. According to recent statistical studies, up to 70 % or 86 % (data of the Research State Institute of Altaic Studies) of the Altaians continue to profess "Altai Faith": Burkhanism, shamanism and other native spiritual cults and traditions. According to Natalia Zhukovskaia, the Altaian shamanism is supreme religion of the majority of the Altai people. At present, shamanism is practiced by many Telengits though there is a large amount that also profess Orthodox Christianity. Burkhanism is the main religion of the Altai-Kizhi, a largest Altaians' group, but there is a significant number of Orthodox Christians. The majority of Kumandins, Tubalars, Teleuts, and Chelkans are Russian Orthodox although there is a significant minority that practice shamanism. A few Altaians are Evangelical Christians, and Tibetan Buddhists. In principle, the division into the Burkhanists and shamanists has ceased to be relevant for the contemporary religiosity of the Altaians. According to a number of studies, by the beginning of the 21st century, there were practically no traditional shamans or classical Burkhanists anti-shamanists. The main one was the single "Altai Faith" ()—a traditional ethnic religion in the form of a synthesis of Burkhanism with the remnants of shamanism and other tribal beliefs and customs. Genetics Altai population can be divided into northern and southern clusters based on linguistics, culture, and genetics. According to a 2012 study that analyzed mtDNA (by PCR-RFLP analysis and control region sequencing) and nonrecombinant Y-DNA (by scoring more than 100 biallelic markers and 17 Y-STRs) obtained from Altaian samples, northern Altaians are genetically more similar to Yeniseian, Ugric, and Samoyeds to the north, while southern Altaians having greater affinities to other Turkic speaking