http://www.uoregon.edu/~kimball/Nqv.catechism.thm.htm
Check out this link. If anyone doubts that Communism (which I have defined in a prior post as different from both Socialism and Marxism) is a cult, read this.
I will add that we get the word Nihilist from the word used by the OPPONENTS of revolutionists in the latter half of 19th century Russia. (Side note: Both Tory and Whig, in the British tradition, were also terms used by their opponents, if memory serves).
The prototype of the brooding young man or women with tinted John Lennon glasses, long, unkempt hair and beard, and a complete disregard for fashion and cleanliness comes from this period.
What is most interesting about that period of history–at its height from very roughly 1850-1880–is that Nihilists succeeded in assassinating one of the most liberal Czars they had ever had. He either had or was on the verge of granting major concessions in terms of representative government. All of that was rolled back when he was blown up.
Violence never furthers social advancement. It is the outlet for the emotionally shallow, and morally weak.