The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word RUSSIAN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
R
U
S
S
I
A
N
More clues leading to the result RUSSIAN
- Engineer in USSR, a chap from Moscow?
- French on about Welshwoman showing tongue
- Statesman Berliner once beheaded
- Former Soviet managed to seize one on American ship
- In which DA gives consent
- Republican American is turning to one like Putin?
- & 7 Sinner messed around with user interface, which gave Trump an advantage?
- One directly affected by USSR in a crisis
- Language game initially surprises Welsh girl
- Putin perhaps hurried to embrace America — certainly requiring translation?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Former Soviet" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case former soviet = russian.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.