In late 1943 and early 1944, after the Nazi invasion of Russia had been turned back, Soviet troops descended upon the Caucasus, the Caspian steppes, and the Crimea without warning and brutally deported some one million of their people—Chechens, Ingush, Balkars, Karachai, Kalmyks, and Tatars—to Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and Siberia. Hundreds were executed and thousands more were to die of malnutrition, exposure, and harsh treatment. Not until the late 1950s were some of them allowed to return to their homelands, but then, and even now, under a burden of lies and guilt for the treasonous acts of a few.
