To Jim W - once the war of 1904 was lost, most influential families saw the writing on the wall - Russia was so corrupt and the Czar was so inept that the whole system was going to crash down around them. Many families moved substantial assets to other countries , for instance mining, timber and shipping to Norway and Sweden, financial to Zurik, Paris and London, manufacturing to Paris and London, jewelry industry to Paris and London and on and on. Younger members of the families tended to go out on these new ventures. Once the World War started, everything was locked down and there was no escape except to the far East and Japan (an ally then) thru the TransSibberian railway - nearly impossible undertaking. The Whites were then left to their fate, with little effort from the allied interventionists to save the people fighting for them, and little of what they had survived.
