How did Russia's participation in the First World War prepare the ground for the February Revolution?

Correct answer: It increased war defeats, food crisis and soldiers' discontent

Russia's participation in the First World War intensified an already serious political and economic crisis. Military defeats caused enormous casualties and damaged confidence in the Tsarist government. The army needed more men and supplies, while transport was disrupted and cities faced shortages of grain, fuel and other necessities. Inflation reduced the value of wages, so workers and families found daily life increasingly difficult. Soldiers, many of whom were peasants, became tired of the war and less willing to defend the autocracy. These connected pressures produced strikes, demonstrations and mutinies in Petrograd in February 1917. Option A is correct because it links military failure, food crisis and army discontent. The other options are opposite to the evidence: the war did not stabilise Tsarism, stop strikes or solve the land question.