Not only that - it was simpler, probably easier to refurbish after flight and had, IIRC, twice the payload capacity (because it didn't need to carry the ascent engines along for the ride).
It wasn't as reusable as the American counterpart, but if we did that with today's reusable boosters the way SpaceX does it, it wouldn't be that bad.
Remember, of course, what drove both designs was the capability to bring large objects back from space in a single orbit
It's really no surprise Buran was abandoned and the shuttle was bad at everything else (except looking good in pictures).