Today Stockholm Pride sends Vladimir Putin a heart of gold as an end to their viral campaign #GoWest. Stockholm Pride, which won both gold and a People's Choice award at Lovie Awards are now sending the winning statuette personally to President Putin with the inscription: To a man with a heart of stone, here's a heart of gold.
"This is a tribute to all LGBTQ activists in Russia. We can not see a better ending to this successful campaign. We know that RFSL and many other organizations from several countries are co-operating with the Russian LGBT movement, and we wish them good luck in their future work", Peter Rimsby, President of Stockholm Pride.
#GoWest was launched in May 2013, to highlight the situation for LGBT people in Russia and became big news in the international media. Boy George, Darren Hayes from Savage Garden, Canadian indie pop group Tegan and Sara, Nicole Fiorentino - bassist for Smashing Pumpkins, were some of the famous names who supported the campaign. Three days after that #GoWest was released it trended as a topic on Twitter in Russia.
"We’ve received a tremendous support around the world. The purpose of now, sending a gold heart to President Putin is to once again show that we will continue to fight for a more humane Russia" says Jessica W Sandberg, campaign manager for #GoWest.