Mutiny by soldiers called by the government shows what depth of power crisis?

Correct answer: The state was losing control over its own instruments of repression

A soldier mutiny was a particularly deep sign of political crisis because soldiers were expected to defend the government and enforce its orders. When troops called upon to suppress demonstrations instead joined or supported the protesters, the state lost control over a central instrument of coercion. Option A is therefore correct. This was more serious than an ordinary public protest because it revealed a breakdown inside the machinery that upheld Tsarist authority. Option B is contradicted by the mutiny, and options C and D describe events that did not cause the soldiers’ revolt. The episode shows that repression could no longer be relied upon automatically and that the regime’s authority was collapsing from within as well as being challenged from outside.