After Russia invaded Ukraine, the Kremlin’s propaganda has become especially aggressive and outrageous. Yet, most Russians, as before, seem to be satisfied with state-run media, and only a few of them have noticed the Kremlin’s crackdown on the remaining independent journalists. In his talk, Anton Shirikov will consider why Russians find the Kremlin’s propaganda credible and appealing and what propaganda narratives and techniques they are especially vulnerable to. He will also discuss why independent journalism failed to counteract the Kremlin’s disinformation, and why common-sense news literacy strategies are often ineffective against authoritarian propaganda.