Russian -- one near front (4)
I believe the answer is:
ivan
'russian' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'one near front' is the wordplay.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'near' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'front' becomes 'van' (I've seen this before).
'i'+'van'='IVAN'
(Other definitions for ivan that I've seen before include "Fellow" , "- - the Terrible (Czar)" , "A Terrible old Russian ruler" , "First tsar of Russia" , "his progress in history was terrible!" .)