The journalists said they arrived at their “operational estimate” using data from Russia’s official Registry of Inheritance Affairs. This estimate is based on a mathematical model that considers the age distribution of newly discovered fatalities and their known probability of inclusion in a name-by-name list (compiled by volunteers based on obituaries) of deceased soldiers of various ages. The analysis suggests that the data from the registry allows for an approximation of the real number of casualties, as the database refers to about 70% of all deaths in Russia. However, not all deaths resul…