The Myth of Putin's Invincibility Just Took a Hit

For years, Moscow symbolized untouchable power. That illusion may be cracking.

Author’s Note

Before you read today’s article, it’s important to understand what happened.

In one of the most dramatic attacks of the war…waves of Ukrainian drones reportedly penetrated multiple layers of Moscow’s air defenses and struck oil and fuel infrastructure near the Russian capital.

Videos shared by Russian citizens showed massive explosions…towering columns of black smoke…and fires burning roughly ten miles from the Kremlin itself.

For years, the Russian government has worked to shield Moscow’s population from the realities of the war in Ukraine.

While cities across Ukraine endured nightly drone and missile attacks…life inside Russia’s capital was meant to feel insulated…protected…and largely untouched by the conflict.

That illusion took a significant hit.

The physical damage matters. Refineries were reportedly struck…fuel supplies could be affected…and questions are being asked about the effectiveness of Russia’s defenses.

But the psychological impact may prove even more important.

Millions of Russians witnessed images that would have been almost unimaginable at the start of the invasion: fires near Moscow, air defenses struggling to stop incoming drones, and visible signs that the war’s consequences can reach the heart of Russia itself.

The article that follows is not about celebrating destruction or human suffering.

It’s about something far more powerful.

It’s about what happens when the image of invulnerability begins to crack.

Because throughout history…some of the most consequential moments have occurred not when buildings were damaged…but when people suddenly realized that someone they believed was untouchable...wasn’t.

The Myth of Putin's Invincibility Just Took a Hit

For years, Moscow symbolized untouchable power. That illusion may be cracking.

Something happened this week that made me sit up straighter in my chair.

Not because I enjoy war.

Not because I celebrate death.

And…certainly not because explosions are somehow entertaining.

No.

It excited the hell out of me because of what those explosions mean.

You see, for years Vladimir Putin has sold a story.

A very specific story.

A story that every strongman throughout history eventually tries to sell.

The story is this:

“I am untouchable.”

“I am inevitable.”

“I am the wall.”

“I am the shield.”

“Nothing can reach me.”

For decades, Moscow has been the center of that illusion.

The fortress.

The sanctuary.

The place where ordinary Russians were supposed to believe that power lived.

That safety lived.

That permanence lived.

The message was simple:

The war happens somewhere else.

The suffering happens somewhere else.

The fear happens somewhere else.

The consequences happen somewhere else.

But not here.

Never here.

Not in Moscow.

Not near the throne.

And that’s exactly why these blasts matter.

Because every empire depends on mythology.

Not military mythology.

Psychological mythology.

The mythology that tells people:

“Resistance is useless.”

“The ruler cannot be touched.”

“The machine is too powerful.”

“Nothing will ever change.”

The moment people stop believing that story...

Everything changes.

I want you to think about every dictator you’ve ever studied.

Every autocrat.

Every tyrant.

Every king who believed his own propaganda.

At first they seem invincible.

Their portraits are everywhere.

Their speeches dominate the airwaves.

Their supporters swear they’ll rule forever.

Their enemies whisper in private because speaking openly feels dangerous.

Then something strange happens.

A crack appears.

Just one.

And suddenly…everyone notices.

The emperor isn’t bleeding to death.

He’s bleeding certainty.

And certainty…is the most valuable asset a strongman possesses.

The minute people see vulnerability...

The spell weakens.

The minute people see fear...

The aura fades.

The minute people see that the fortress can be reached...

The fortress is never quite the same again.

That’s what fascinates me.

Not the explosion itself.

The psychology behind it.

Because history is filled with moments exactly like this.

Moments when people realized the giant was not ten feet tall.

Moments when citizens discovered the machine could malfunction.

Moments when reality punched through propaganda.

Think about how many regimes appeared eternal…right up until they weren’t.

The Soviet Union.

East Germany.

Romania under Ceaușescu.

Countless others.

One day they looked permanent.

The next day…they were gone.

Not because the physical structure disappeared overnight.

Because belief disappeared.

And belief is the fuel.

Without belief, the machine stalls.

Without belief…fear weakens.

Without belief…obedience becomes harder to maintain.

What excites me isn’t destruction.

It’s accountability.

It’s consequences.

It’s the reminder that geography doesn’t grant immunity.

It’s the reminder that power has limits.

It’s the reminder that nobody gets to sit on a throne forever…while assuming the world will simply absorb every decision without response.

There’s another reason this story grabs me.

Human beings have an extraordinary tendency to confuse the current moment with eternity.

We see today’s headlines…and assume they’ll remain tomorrow’s headlines.

We see today’s powerful people…and assume they’ll remain powerful forever.

We see today’s systems…and assume they’re permanent.

They’re not.

Nothing is.

The strongest castle ever built eventually becomes a tourist attraction.

The richest king eventually becomes a chapter in a history book.

The most feared ruler eventually becomes a photograph in a museum.

Everything changes.

Everything.

And when something happens that reminds us of that fact...

I pay attention.

Because those moments reveal reality.

The reality is that power is far more fragile than it appears.

The reality is that fear is far more fragile than it appears.

The reality is that the stories leaders tell about themselves are often stronger than the reality underneath them.

Putin’s greatest weapon has never been a missile.

It has never been a tank.

It has never been an army.

It has been the perception of inevitability.

The perception that resistance changes nothing.

The perception that outcomes are already decided.

The perception that the future belongs to him.

When explosions occur in places people thought were beyond reach, that perception takes a hit.

Maybe a small hit.

Maybe a temporary hit.

Maybe a significant hit.

Time will tell.

But the mythology suffers.

And mythology is hard to repair once people start questioning it.

That excites me because I believe one of the most dangerous ideas on Earth is the idea that certain people are untouchable.

History repeatedly proves otherwise.

Every empire eventually discovers its limits.

Every ruler eventually discovers reality.

Every fortress eventually discovers vulnerability.

Sometimes slowly.

Sometimes suddenly.

But always eventually.

So when I read about massive blasts in Moscow…I don’t think first about fireballs.

I think about psychology.

I think about symbolism.

I think about the millions of people watching…and quietly asking themselves a question they may never have asked before:

“Wait a minute...”

“If that can happen there...”

“What else might be possible?”

And that question...

That tiny little question...

Has altered the course of history more times than any weapon ever invented.

Because once people stop believing in inevitability…they start imagining alternatives.

And once they start imagining alternatives...

The future becomes much harder for strongmen to control.

BONUS: What Happens to Your Brain When You Believe Someone Is Untouchable?

Here’s something most people never realize.

The belief that someone is untouchable doesn’t just change your opinion.

It changes your biology.

Your nervous system.

Your emotions.

Your behavior.

In fact, some of the most important political…social…and historical outcomes in human history have been shaped by a simple neurological calculation occurring inside millions of brains at the same time:

“Can this person actually be challenged?”

The moment your brain decides the answer is “no,” a cascade of changes begins.

First, your attention narrows.

Psychologists call this learned helplessness.

When people repeatedly encounter a force they perceive as unbeatable…their brains begin conserving energy.

Why waste emotional resources on a battle you can’t win?

Why take risks?

Why speak up?

Why organize?

Why resist?

The brain’s efficiency systems kick in and quietly encourage withdrawal.

This isn’t weakness.

It’s adaptation.

Your nervous system is trying to protect you.

But…there’s a price.

The price is passivity.

The price is silence.

The price is surrendering possibilities before they’ve even been explored.

Researchers have repeatedly found that perceived powerlessness produces many of the same emotional responses associated with chronic stress:

• Increased anxiety

• Reduced motivation

• Reduced problem-solving

• Emotional numbness

• Greater conformity

• Greater dependence on authority figures

In other words, when people begin believing a leader is untouchable…they often become easier to control without realizing it.

Not because the leader became stronger.

Because the followers became psychologically smaller.

That’s the real trick of power.

The strongest leaders in history didn’t merely control territory.

They controlled expectations.

They convinced people resistance was pointless.

And once enough people accept that premise…they begin policing themselves.

You don’t need guards everywhere.

You don’t need threats everywhere.

You don’t need force everywhere.

The brain starts doing the work for you.

What’s fascinating is that the reverse is also true.

The moment people witness evidence that the supposedly untouchable person can be challenged…a completely different neurological process begins.

Hope returns.

Curiosity returns.

Problem-solving returns.

Agency returns.

The brain shifts from defense mode…to possibility mode.

Suddenly…people begin asking different questions.

Not:

“Can anything change?”

But:

“What happens if it does?”

That distinction is enormous.

Neuroscientists have found that perceived control dramatically influences stress responses.

Two people can face the exact same situation.

The person who believes they have options…experiences less stress and greater resilience…than the person who believes they have none.

Think about that.

Nothing external changed.

Only perception changed.

Yet…the body’s response changed completely.

That’s why myths of invincibility are so powerful.

And…that’s why cracks in those myths are so consequential.

Because the battle is rarely fought only on a battlefield.

It’s fought inside millions of nervous systems.

Inside millions of private calculations.

Inside millions of moments where people decide whether the future is fixed or still open.

Every strongman understands this instinctively.

That’s why they work so hard to project certainty.

Strength.

Control.

Inevitability.

They need people to believe the outcome has already been decided.

Because once enough people stop believing that...

The emotional landscape changes.

The neurological landscape changes.

The behavioral landscape changes.

People start talking differently.

Acting differently.

Thinking differently.

Organizing differently.

Imagining differently.

History often describes great political shifts as though they happened overnight.

Most didn’t.

What changed first was psychology.

Then behavior.

Then history.

And it usually started with a simple realization:

The giant bleeds.

The fortress isn’t impenetrable.

The future isn’t predetermined.

And once that realization spreads from brain to brain…person to person…community to community...

The world can change astonishingly fast.

#HoldFast

Back soon.

-Jack
Jack Hopkins

P.S. One of the most dangerous things that can happen in any society is when people begin believing that certain leaders, institutions, or systems are immune from consequences.

History says otherwise.

Again and again, the seemingly untouchable discover they are not untouchable. The seemingly permanent discover they are not permanent. And…the seemingly inevitable discover that inevitability was always an illusion.

The moment people stop confusing power with permanence…is often the moment history starts moving faster than anyone imagined.

That’s why I pay attention to moments like this.

Not because of what was destroyed.

But…because of what may have been shattered…inside millions of minds watching it happen.