 According to internal NKVD data, a total of 144,704 died in 1944–1948 alone (death rate of 23.5% per all groups).Authors such as Alexander Nekrich, John Dunlop and Moshe Gammer, based on census data from the period estimate a death toll of about 170,000–200,000 among Chechens alone, thus ranging from over a third of the total Chechen population that was deported to nearly half dying during those 4 years (rates for other groups for those four years hover around 20%).All traces of them in the city, including books and graveyards, were destroyed by the NKVD troops.