Russians begin 3 days of voting in a parliamentary election set to cement the Kremlin's power

Russians on Friday began three days of voting in the country’s first wartime parliamentary election, which features virtually no opposition and is all but certain to secure the Kremlin’s political dominance.

Authorities spread the election over the weekend in a bid to boost turnout among the 111 million eligible voters and even allowed electronic balloting. Polls opened Friday and will close Sunday.

The Kremlin wants the parliamentary election — the first since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — to underline public support for the war and give a veneer of legitimacy to its action. It has sought to avoid any political risks by stamping out even the slightest sign of dissent.

“Your choice and resolve will once again demonstrate that millions of people stand behind our fighters, that we are a united people, bound by shared values, historical memory, and love for the Motherland,” President Vladimir Putin told the nation before the vote.

The main Kremlin party, United Russia, is all but assured to retain its overwhelming control of the lower house, the State Duma. Several smaller parties of the “systemic opposition” that vote in sync with the government on all key issues also are expected to retain their presence.

Voters cast two separate ballots, filling half of the Duma’s 450 seats by selecting political parties listed on the ballot. The rest are contested in single-seat constituencies, with voters choosing individual candidates.

The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political entity that dared to criticize the war, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia’s Supreme Court, and only has a few dozen candidates in the single-constituency races. Additionally, some anti-war politicians have been imprisoned or forced to flee abroad ahead of the campaign.

The election follows a summer of Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on oil refineries that triggered a widespread fuel crisis. Warehouses belonging to online retailers Wildberries and Ozon also were attacked. The damage has exacerbated problems for the Russian economy and brought the war home for millions.

For the first time, the parliamentary election includes residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began. Voting also is taking place in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Authorities in Kyiv denounced the voting in the Russian-held areas as illegal and urged foreign governments and international organizations not to recognize the election, warning Ukrainians that taking part in organizing the balloting could carry criminal liability.

A voter casts a ballot in the parliamentary election in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)

Voters cast their ballot for the parliamentary election in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)

A woman leaves a voting booth to cast her ballot in the parliamentary election in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)

A woman walks to cast her ballot in the parliamentary election in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)

A woman casts her ballot in the parliamentary election in Vladivostok, Russia, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose in early Friday trading, getting a lift from a rally on Wall Street as well as declining oil prices.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.4% to 65,000.72 in afternoon trading after the Bank of Japan raised the benchmark interest rate to 1.25% from 1.0%, a 31-year high.

The move had been widely figured in, coming after the Federal Reserve also raised its key rate this week. Pressures have been coming from the U.S. for Japan to raise rates because of concerns about the weakening yen.

The nations intervened together recently to prop up the yen. But the efforts haven't had a big impact.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 157.23 Japanese yen from 155.95 yen. The euro cost $1.1484, up from $1.1480.

South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.7% to 6,893.98. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.2% to 8,719.50. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up nearly 1.0% to 24,837.05, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.9% to 3,909.81.

Falling oil prices and easing pressure from the bond market helped Wall Street reverse many of its losses from the prior day.

The S&P 500 jumped 1.1% for just its second rise in the last nine days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 316 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.7%.

Wall Street stocks got a boost after the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil slid from the nearly $110 it reached earlier in the week on worries that the war with Iran will keep oil bottled up in the Middle East instead of going to customers worldwide.

In Asian trading, Brent, the international standard, lost 1.27% to $103.49 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude slid 0.93% to $100.96 a barrel.

Brent is still more expensive than the $72 per barrel that it cost earlier this summer, but the recent drop helped pull yields lower in the bond market and removed some pressure on stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.93% from 5.01% late Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised the short-term interest rate that it controls, the federal funds rate, by a quarter of a percentage point for its first hike in more than three years. Officials also signaled they may raise the federal funds rate one more time this year as they try to get high inflation in the U.S. under control.

The signals sent Wall Street on a roller coaster. Stocks initially remained higher for the day after the Fed made its announcement Wednesday. They then slid sharply before recovering a chunk of the losses before trading ended.

On the upside for markets, the shift to higher interest rates built confidence that the Fed is committed to getting inflation back to its target of 2%. On the downside for markets, higher rates undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 85.95 points to 7,637.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 316.14 to 51,778.04, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 439.87 to 26,418.30.

AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.

Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)