When you are asked a question like "Откуда вы?", and you wanted to answer with a single word, would you say "Россия" or "России"?
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(Mention that asking a russian where is he from may be thought to mean "you're not supposed to be here", unless context gives no chance to interpret it this way.) – polkovnikov.ph Aug 1 '16 at 17:38
You can actually use both, but the second noun should be used with its preposition из России and it sounds more correct. But speaking to foreigners I would choose Россия.
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Similarly, if someone asks, say, what you are going to buy at a shop, would you answer in nominative or accusative (like книга vs книгу)? – casey Jul 31 '16 at 2:13
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Из России is the proper answer. России would be definitely a mistake: you can't use the required case with dropped preposition here. Россия из possible but not perfect: similar simplified, low colloquial answers sometimes even sound impolite.