The term "Muslim" as it is now used by Soviet authorities applies to the various peoples, mostly turkic, who before 1917 belonged to the Islamic faith. In its present usage, however, the term does not apply only to those Muslims who still practice their religion. Soviet authorities continue to use this designation to express the confusion in Islam between religion and nationality, a confusion which would be impossible between "Russian" and "Orthodox", for example. In the Soviet Union one can find in use the expressionneverujuščie Musu"mane, the "non-believing Muslims". Islam is more than a religion: it is a way of life, a culture, a transcendent identity. There are forty to forty-five million Muslims in the Soviet Union today and their number is rapidly increasing: an increase of more than 50% occurred between 1959 and 1970, as against the very modest growth (13%) of the Russian population.