With the stroke of a pen, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally enacted a series of anti-LGBTQ+ amendments banning marriage equality and transgender adoptions, and centering “a belief in God” as a core value of the country. The homophobic and transphobic amendments were passed last July in a national referendum, with over 77 percent of voters casting their ballots in support of the measures. According to a report in the AP, the new rules also reset Putin’s term limits as president, meaning he can serve an additional two six-year terms in office.
Putin really does not want to be seen as a dictator who rules without consulting the people. He also wants democracy and elections to be an established process in the relatively new country of Russia. Luckily for him, he is indeed popular enough to keep winning mostly free elections. The referendum allows him to deflect all those claims he's just extending his own rule.
He is extending his own rule of course, but he can just say "hey it's what the people wanted" with a shit eating grin to western reporters :putin-wink:
Vote counts are regularly massaged, the state media is non-stop propaganda, the state runs controlled opposition and spoiler candidates, and if they ever accidentally lose a race through arrogance, it's quickly corrected.
That sounds exactly like what the west calls free elections.