When countries have had antecessor-states that have been drastically changed over historical events, normally through a change or system of governance, it's common to refer to the type of system that was in place at the time you're referring to.

For example, it's common to refer to 1950s Spain as Fascist Spain (no more Spains on earth at that time), 1950s Russia as Soviet Russia (no more Russias at that time), 1890s Russia as Tsarist Russia (no more Russias at the time)... You get my point.