The Czarist gezeira is a known reality that isn’t under dispute. I believe even the fact that bochorim in Mir were clean shaven was a result of the after-effects of the gezeiros. Prior to the gezeiros frum Jewish men in Russia/Lithuania/Poland (non-Chasidic) had beards, kapotes and long sidecurls. And the frum women wore tichels. The Russian government effectively changed all that.
My question (note that I’m not here claiming anyone needs to change anything) is if the change was forced upon us by the Russian Czar, once we are free from his yoke, why haven’t the kehilos from the Russian/Lithuanian/Polish areas that changed minhagim due to these gezeiros returned to their traditional minhagim vis-a-vis head covering for women and kapotes and beards for men.
That’s the question I’m trying to understand.