For most of human existence, in most cultures, being a sexual minority has meant discrimination, abuse and, often, death. We can have a direct impact on that in the United States because we have the freedom to speak our truth, the freedom to be armed to protect ourselves, and, ultimately, the freedom to spend (or withhold) our money in ways that furthers our well-being.
Outside of the US, our ability to effect change is much smaller. Russia is in a demographic crisis. Until recently, population was declining. Certainly the birth rate of native Russians is less than replacement (like most of Europe). If the trend of the late 90s and early 2000s were to continue, by the end of the century, Russia would be facing such an extreme situation that it wouldn’t be out of the question that they could lose Siberia to the Chinese.
So, Putin decided that he needed to act. His solution is to double-down on traditional Eastern-Orthodox Catholicism. That means anti-abortion, and certainly anti-sexual-minority policies are not only encouraged, they’re being pushed as a matter of national survival. I’m not agreeing with any of this; I’m just saying how it’s being perceived by the Russian leadership. The results have been trending in the “right” direction — birthrates have increased marginally and life expectancy is up.
I don’t think there’s any kind of diplomatic pressure we could apply to Russia that would improve the situation for the rights of sexual minorities in Russia as a whole, let alone Chechnya. Add that to the difficulty of maintaining central control over a province (yes, it’s actually a Federal Republic in the Russian system, but close enough) that is up to 95% Islamic and this isn’t a hill that any Russian leader is going to die on.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t advocate on behalf of gay people being murdered around the world, but if the folks doing the murdering have the approval of their religion and their belief in national survival, it’s not, sadly, going to change anytime soon.