The system did not survive the man, or at least, not completely. Even before a new leader had emerged from among them, the men in Stalin's circle sought to limit his excesses—the extensive use of coercion and terror that threatened even those at the top, including themselves; extravagant and wasteful projects; concentration on military production; and neglect of consumer goods and human needs. Cultural controls eased. In 1954, Ilya Ehrenburg's novel The Thaw gave its name to the era. It featured harsh criticism of the ruling elite, depicted as personifying the Soviet system. Tens of thousands of prisoners were released from the camps, as were the accused in the "Doctors' Plot." Some ethnic groups deported before and during the war, such as the Chechen, Ingush, and Kalmyk peoples, regained their legal rights and subsequently were permitted to return to their territory. Deportees from the western portions of the USSR received amnesties, too, although some had engaged in armed resistance to Soviet power. Within three years of Stalin's death, perhaps a million prisoners had returned from the camps. The press made no mention of it.