Why were there civilian dead in Central Asia in WWII?

by throwaway_-_2

We were discussing this chart in r/russia: http://www.rferl.org/contentinfographics/soviet-war-dead/26999777.html

I think Wiki has the same numbers, so it's not that they're wrong, but why are there civilian dead in Central Asia in WWII if the Germans never advanced that far?

tc1991

Starvation, disease, purges. The Soviet Union was seriously short of food which had an impact upon all citizens throughout the territory, also central asia was a popular destination for deportations (and sometimes these people were simply put in a field and left) and then the fact that again throughout the SU people were overworked and of course subject to political repression.