Friedrich Nietzsche wrote many criticisms about nihilism that have become known as the most important explanation of nihilism. Even though Nietzsche was very critical of nihilism, he has similarities to earlier nihilists such as Dmitry Pisarev and Max Stirner. Because of this, he is sometimes called a nihilist and sometimes called an . His explanation of nihilism combined the German and Russian meanings of the word, and also went further.