Which representative body did the government suspend on 25 February 1917?

Correct answer: Duma

Direct answer: Option A, the Duma. On 25 February 1917, during the crisis in Petrograd, the Russian government suspended the Duma, the representative legislative assembly of the empire. The Duma was important because it represented a limited form of elected political participation, even though the Tsar still held great power. The suspension showed that the government was losing confidence and trying to control the growing unrest. Option A is therefore correct. Option B, the Soviet Union, did not yet exist as a state in February 1917; soviets were councils of workers and soldiers. Option C, the Cheka, was a later Bolshevik security organisation formed after the October Revolution. Option D, the Red Army, was also organised later by the Bolsheviks and was not the representative body suspended on that date. Exam cue: February Revolution, Petrograd, 25 February and suspension of the Duma belong to the same crisis sequence.