Hey everyone, if you are like me, when hearing about something as atrocious as the government sanctioned attacks being carried out in Cechnya your first reflex is to want to do something. After some searching, I found this Slate article with some reccomendations: https://www.google.com/amp/amp.slate.com/blogs/outward/2017/04/20/gay_and_bi_men_in_chechnya_need_your_help_here_are_some_options.html

I have also been trying to find a way to petition world leaders to do something, but I may just start by contacting my congressperson in hopes of the issue being introduced onto the floor. I don't really know how things work in Britain, but is there anything similar which people could do to petitioner their leaders to condemn Chechnya's actions? Chechnya is not exactly a world power, so if we get a general international consesus we should be able to apply substantial pressure. Unfortunately, Russia, who has the most direct power over Chechnya, has been passively, and at times actively, anti-LGBT in its policy. I think our most important goal here is to remind president Kadyrov that the world is watching, and that such appalling violations of human rights have been consigned to history. Beyond some of the actions reccomended in the article and contacting local political leaders, does anyone else have ideas on how to apply political pressure to Chechnya?