There are several good essays I'd recommend – about the Russian revolution and the sick psychological appeal of radicalism. these 3 mine similar territory but reinforce each other well - together they paint a damning portrait.

First, two great essays from Gary Saul Morson:

https://newcriterion.com/issues/2019/10/leninthink

I became obsessed with this "Leninthink" essay; it goes deep and does an amazing job describing leftist psychology, its inherent violence and brutality, and why totalitarians are immune to reason and rationality.

https://www.firstthings.com/article/2020/10/suicide-of-the-liberals

This one is a little more readable ... you'll notice some disturbing parallels between then and now.

https://amgreatness.com/2020/07/11/lessons-from-the-radicalization-of-russia/

tl;dr: "Radicals never succeed without the complicity—active or passive—of moderate elites"