What was indicated by the Bolsheviks abolishing old titles and ranks?

Correct answer: End of old social privileges

The direct answer is D: abolishing old titles and ranks indicated the end of old social privileges. In Tsarist Russia, titles and ranks were not harmless words; they showed a person’s place in a hierarchy and were connected with birth, status and special treatment. When the Bolsheviks removed such official distinctions, they were rejecting the idea that nobles should enjoy privileges simply because of family background. Thus D correctly identifies the social and symbolic meaning of the measure. A is wrong because removing old ranks did not begin foreign rule; it was part of a domestic revolution. B is wrong because abolition opposed Tsarism rather than restoring it. C is wrong because the step reduced the authority of the old privileged order and did not expand Church power. The change was symbolic as well as administrative: it told people that the new state wanted equality in place of hereditary hierarchy. Memory cue: old titles represented old privilege; removing them represented equality.