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A London flat where the father of Russian socialism once lived has hit the market in the citys posh Bayswater neighborhood for 1.45 million (US$1.86 million).

Alexander Herzen, the first self-proclaimed Russian socialist, lived in exile in London in the 1850s and 60s, including several years in this grand Italianate mansion known as Orsett House thats since been divided into multiple apartments.

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A historic Blue Plaque, bestowed on the building in 1970, commemorates Herzens tenure there from 1860-61. It was a short but very significant time, during which Herzen saw his fight for the emancipation of Russian serfs realized through reforms by emperor Alexander II.

Indeed it was there at Orsett House that the Russian writer threw a massive party in honor of the emancipation. The fete, attended by radical European thinkers from Italian nationalist Guisseppe Mazzini to French socialist Louis Blanc, drew enough curious onlookers that a special police force was called to control the crowd, according to playwright Tom Stoppard, who wrote a trilogy for the stage about Herzen in 2002.

The quirky Victorian-era villa still sticks out on a street otherwise lined in identical terraced houses. It comes with a historic Grade-II listing for its period architecture, including a grand columned porch and leaded mansard roof, according to details from Historic England.

The available apartment, which hit the market at the end of September with estate agency Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward (KFH), spans the villas entire top floor with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

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Its laid out around a central great room and modernized kitchen with bedrooms arranged on either side. The home features hardwood floors and period architectural quirks, like a barrel ceiling in the kitchen and plaster moulding, according to the listing with KFH, which could not be reached for comment.

Mansion Global could not identify the owner.

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London Flat Where Russian Socialist Lived in Exile Lists for 1.45 Million - Mansion Global