Question: What was the former name of the second most populous state of Europe after Russia ?

text: ISO 3166-3
Current codes
The following is a complete list of the current ISO 3166-3 codes , with the following columns : Former country name – English short country name officially used by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency ( ISO 3166/MA ) Former codes – ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 , alpha-3 , and numeric codes Period of validity – Years when codes were officially assigned ISO 3166-3 code – Four-letter code assigned for former country name New country names and codes – Successor countries and their ISO 3166-1 codes Click on the button in the header to sort by ISO 3166-3 code .
ISO 3166-3 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and defines codes for country names which have been deleted from ISO 3166-1 since its first publication in 1974. The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions - Part 3: Code for formerly used names of countries. It was first published in 1999. Each former country name in ISO 3166-3 is assigned a four-letter alphabetic code. The first two letters are the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of the former country, while the last two letters are allocated according to the following rules:
Former country name Former codes Period of validity ISO 3166-3 code New country names and codes
British Antarctic Territory BQ , ATB , - 1974-1979 BQAQ Merged into Antarctica ( AQ , ATA , 010 )
Burma BU , BUR , 104 1974-1989 BUMM Name changed to Myanmar ( MM , MMR , 104 )
Byelorussian SSR BY , BYS , 112 1974-1992 BYAA Name changed to Belarus ( BY , BLR , 112 )
Canton and Enderbury Islands CT , CTE , 128 1974-1984 CTKI Merged into Kiribati ( KI , KIR , 296 )
Czechoslovakia CS , CSK , 200 1974-1993 CSHH Divided into : Czech Republic ( CZ , CZE , 203 ) Slovakia ( SK , SVK , 703 )
Dahomey DY , DHY , 204 1974-1977 DYBJ Name changed to Benin ( BJ , BEN , 204 )
Dronning Maud Land NQ , ATN , 216 1974-1983 NQAQ Merged into Antarctica ( AQ , ATA , 010 )
East Timor TP , TMP , 626 1974-2002 TPTL Name changed to Timor-Leste ( TL , TLS , 626 )
France , Metropolitan FX , FXX , 249 1993-1997 FXFR Merged into France ( FR , FRA , 250 )
French Afars and Issas AI , AFI , 262 1974-1977 AIDJ Name changed to Djibouti ( DJ , DJI , 262 )
French Southern and Antarctic Territories FQ , ATF , - 1974-1979 FQHH Divided into : Part of Antarctica ( AQ , ATA , 010 ) ( i.e. , Adélie Land ) French Southern Territories ( TF , ATF , 260 )
German Democratic Republic DD , DDR , 278 1974-1990 DDDE Merged into Germany ( DE , DEU , 276 )
Gilbert and Ellice Islands GE , GEL , 296 1974-1979 GEHH Divided into : Kiribati ( KI , KIR , 296 ) Tuvalu ( TV , TUV , 798 )
Johnston Island JT , JTN , 396 1974-1986 JTUM Merged into United States Minor Outlying Islands ( UM , UMI , 581 )
Midway Islands MI , MID , 488 1974-1986 MIUM Merged into United States Minor Outlying Islands ( UM , UMI , 581 )
Netherlands Antilles AN , ANT , 530 1974-2010 ANHH Divided into : Bonaire , Sint Eustatius and Saba ( BQ , BES , 535 ) Curaçao ( CW , CUW , 531 ) Sint Maarten ( Dutch part ) ( SX , SXM , 534 )
Neutral Zone NT , NTZ , 536 1974-1993 NTHH Divided into : Part of Iraq ( IQ , IRQ , 368 ) Part of Saudi Arabia ( SA , SAU , 682 )
New Hebrides NH , NHB , 548 1974-1980 NHVU Name changed to Vanuatu ( VU , VUT , 548 )
Pacific Islands ( Trust Territory ) PC , PCI , 582 1974-1986 PCHH Divided into : Marshall Islands ( MH , MHL , 584 ) Micronesia , Federated States of ( FM , FSM , 583 ) Northern Mariana Islands ( MP , MNP , 580 ) Palau ( PW , PLW , 585 )
Panama Canal Zone PZ , PCZ , - 1974-1980 PZPA Merged into Panama ( PA , PAN , 591 )