UPDATE 1-Russia govt ready to act on Norilsk - Putin

* Putin to visit Norilsk on Tuesday

* Visit comes amid row between two top shareholders

(Adds details, background)

MOSCOW, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The shareholders of Norilsk Nickel (GMKN.MM) must resolve their dispute and ensure the company continues to function to avoid government intervention, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday.

"I do not care which of the shareholders has a controlling stake or in what proportion. The main thing is that they solve the problems of the company," Putin was quoted as saying by RIA news agency.

"If someone does not decide, if someone falls out of this general order, then we will do something."

Putin added that the shareholders "already know (his position) and are preparing".

Putin is due to visit the world's largest producer of nickel and palladium in the Arctic town of Norilsk on Tuesday. He put off an earlier trip on a tour of Russia's East because of poor weather.

Speculation that the state will take a stake in Norilsk as a way to create a national mining champion have circulated for years, though such intentions have been denied.

Russian media quoted a Kremlin source this month as saying one of the warring sides should sell out.

The company became a battleground between two influential Russian tycoons when Oleg Deripaska, the owner of UC RUSAL (0486.HK), the world's top aluminium producer, bought a 25 percent stake in Norilsk, putting him on equal footing with long-time owner Vladimir Potanin.

Deripaska is suing Potanin's Interros International Investments Ltd in London in an effort to regain equal representation on the board after winning fewer seats than his rival at a recent extraordinary shareholder meeting. (Writing by Toni Vorobyova and Melissa Akin; Editing by Erica Billingham)