In my work about Russian history, I want to write "Russia, former USSR". What word should I use instead of former, in Russian? I do have ideas about various options, like "которая раньше называлась", but these options are too primitive.
Thank you in advance!
The most approximate translation would be, i believe, is "бывший".
Russia, former USSR - Россия, бывший СССР. Is often used in this situation.
The simpler is better in most situations.
I guess, it is not correct. Russia had been a part of USSR. Russia hadn't changed its name while it was a part of USSR. I think right is 'Russia, the successor of the USSR'.
You may use the term Ex-USSR (or former USSR) to describe the territory, (people, cultural features/difference, etc.) on the territories which were belonging to USSR. But definitely not to describe Russia. Russia was РСФСР and it was the largest republic of the USSR. And as @Vladislav correctly noted, Russia is a successor of the USSR - Россия стала правопреемницей СССР. And Russia was separate country before the October Revolution and become RSFSR in the union with other republics.
In this certain case, you could use "ранее" - "Россия, ранее СССР". Not mentioning it is actually incorrect.
It is not really that often when you read such things in Russian. But if you really need to connect the idea of Russian past to its name, I would recommend Россия (бывший СССР).
You can write the following. Россия, бывший "Cоюз"
Russia, former USSRcan be translated differently, based on what you are trying to say. By itself the statements that "Russia was USSR" or that "Russia was called USSR" are incorrect. If anything, English-speaking media had a habit of referring to USSR as "Russia" over a long period of time, but if translated directly, this would sound more like a political trolling or inferior geography knowledge to a native speaker. Knowing the context for your text fragment might make it sound valid though e.g. when referring to people or institutes, likeRussian (formerly USSR) News Agency.