The revolutionary intelligentsia was a group motivated by utopian radicalism, the ecstasy of violence, the cult of the secret Organization. This was the name of Nechayev's mini-sect. At its core, the most secretive nucleus, calling itself "Hell." Suggested readings: Alain Besancon, James Billington, Albert Camus, Jacob L. Talmon, Isaiah Berlin, Leonard Shapiro, Adam Ulam, Richard Pipes. What is political nihilism? Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Herzen. And, of course, Chernyshevsky’s
Indeed: no attachment but for destruction, exactly what's going on in Ukraine. Later, much too late follows the question: "What's to be done?"
Brilliant. I should include Nechayev in my lecture on revolutions!