What major problem existed in Petrograd before the February 1917 Revolution?

Correct answer: Shortage of bread and food

The correct answer is D, shortage of bread and food. During the First World War, transport difficulties, military demands and disruption of supplies made it difficult to bring adequate food to Petrograd. Long queues formed, and workers and their families faced hunger while the government appeared unable to solve the crisis. The bread shortage therefore became a powerful immediate cause of demonstrations, especially when combined with wartime losses and poor working conditions. Excess gold and growing sea trade describe neither the crisis nor its social effects. Russia was not under foreign rule at that time; the central problem was the failure of its own Tsarist government to provide stability and supplies.