Crossword Genius

Country taking power from an older one (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

russia

'country' is the definition.
(I know that Russia is a country)

'power from an older one' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is found in the answer.
'one' could be 'a' and 'a' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'russ' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'taking' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for russia that I've seen before include "Permanent member of the UN Security Council" , "Country from which came James Bond's love?" , "Moscow its capital" , "Country of the tsars" , "What was the RSFSR" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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