MOSCOW, Oct 13: Russia's State Duma lower house of parliament voted on Wednesday to overturn a ban on political party leaders becoming ministers, raising fears that Soviet-style one-party rule could make a comeback.

Russia's constitution provides for some checks and balances, with the Duma able to demand the government's sacking - which led to crises under President Boris Yeltsin during the 1990s.

But political opposition has largely collapsed under President Vladimir Putin, Yeltsin's successor. His supporters dominate both the Duma and the upper house of parliament, whose speaker ran for president on a "Please vote for Putin" ticket.

Although Putin is not a member of any party, he has strongly backed United Russia - a pro-Kremlin bloc dominated by top state officials. Despite a lack of any obvious ideology, it holds two-thirds of the Duma's seats.

Opponents of the bill fear it could quickly crystallise existing loyalties into a one-party state, something Russia ditched in 1991 along with communism and the command economy.

"What's being proposed is a return to the old days, when even the man in charge of the bath-house couldn't be appointed without the party's say-so," said Communist deputy Sergei Reshulsky, opposing the bill in an odd reversal of history.

The Duma rushed through all three readings in just one day, voting by 344-69 to amend the law. Vladimir Pligin, chairman of the Duma's constitutional committee, said existing law put too many restrictions on members of the government and should be scaled back. He also said Russia's history showed parties were a force for good.

"We note the positive experience of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which permeated the whole of society. Unfortunately, it was unique in this respect," said Pligin, a member of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party.

Putin has already come under fire in the West for proposed reforms which would give him the power to appoint regional governors, and scrap direct elections for most state officials.

"Very soon, and without amending the Constitution at all, we may have not only a one-party cabinet ... but also a one-party ruling hierarchy, covering all levels of government," Yevgeny Zherebenikov wrote in Itogi magazine. -Reuters