Crossword Genius

A Russian, I turn Republican (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

igor

'a russian' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'i turn republican' is the wordplay.
'turn' becomes 'go' (a person's move in a board game).
'republican' becomes 'r' (abbreviation).
'i'+'go'+'r'='IGOR'

(Other definitions for igor that I've seen before include "Prince in Borodin's opera" , "Stravinsky, perhaps" , "Prince of grand opera" , "Stravinsky's first name" , "-- Stravinsky, composer" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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