Have you ever confirmed receipt of real donkey ears shipped by FedEx? Not likely, I'd guess. Unless you work in Moscow at Novaya Gazeta, the Russian weekly famed for exposing Kremlin corruption and defending human rights. Journalists at the newspaper, which the Russian government considers unpatriotic and unnecessary, recently received severed donkey ears in a box with a note: "From the presidential administration..."
My heart goes out to the donkey, but my primary purpose here is not to address the issue of cruelty to animals. From threats that unnerve to bullets that kill, the difficulties that critically minded journalists in Russia are encountering are numerous and significant. The Donkey Defense Union will have to wait.
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