A Swedish gay rights group has given
Russian President Vladimir Putin a “heart of gold” to replace his
“heart of stone.”
Stockholm Pride sent Putin a Lovie
Award with the inscription: “To a man with a heart of stone, here's
a heart of gold.” The award was the final act in the group's viral
campaign #GoWest, which sought to increase awareness of the plight of
LGBT Russians.
Singer Boy George, Darren Hayes from
Savage Garden, Canadian indie-pop group Tegan and Sara, and Nicole
Fiorentino from Smashing Pumpkins are some of the celebrities that
participated in the campaign.
“This is a homage to all the HBTQ
[homosexual, bisexual, transgender, queer] activists in Russia,”
Peter Rimsby, chairman for Stockholm Pride, said in an emailed
statement. “We couldn't imagine a better conclusion of this
successful campaign and we know that RFSL, and many other
organizations from other countries, collaborated with the Russian
HBTQ movement and we wish them all the luck in the future.”
Jessica W. Sandberg, manager for the
#GoWest campaign, added: “The reason we are sending Putin the gold
heart is to once again point out that we will continue to fight for a
more human Russia.”