PRESS DIGEST - RUSSIA - June 19

MOSCOW, June 19 (Reuters) - The following are some of the leading stories in Russia's newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

VEDOMOSTI

www.vedomosti.ru

- Russia's natural gas monopoly Gazprom is winding up the entity it created to operate the Shtokman gas field and may set up a new company, the daily says citing sources.

- Private holding Summa Group, controlled by Ziyavudin Magomedov, has closed the deal on buying a 69 percent stake in Russia's Pacific port, the daily says citing its sources.

- Russia leading car maker AvtoVAZ has started assembling in a test mode Nissan Almera cars which are expected to become bestsellers and to improve the image of the national automobile giant, the daily says.

- Austrian MeinlBank is apparently buying a 80 percent stake in Russia's Southern Cross travel agency by the end of October.

KOMMERSANT

www.kommersant.ru

- An opposition group of parliamentarians will challenge Russia's accession to the World Trade Organisation in the Constitutional Court, saying WTO membership will threaten Russia's economic security.

IZVESTIA

www.izvestia.ru

- The government could consider cutting income taxed for foreign traders on Russia's securities market to 10 percent from the current 35 percent.

- Moscow city authorities are ready to sell their 5,9 percent stake in Avtoframos, Renault's Moscow-based Russian subsidiary, the daily reports.

NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA

www.ng.ru

- The market price for apartments in Moscow varies from 174,000 roubles ($5,400) to 199,000 roubles ($6,100) per square meter while the construction price is about 45,000 roubles ($1,400), the daily says commenting on the official statistics.

MOSKOVSKY KOMSOMOLETS

www.mk.ru

- President Dmitry Medvedev has demanded punishment for anyone found responsible for the construction of a 29 billion rouble ($894 million) highway in Vladivostok which linked the airport with the APEC 2012 summit venue, after an 8 km section of the 42 km road was washed away by rain.

($1 = 32.4477 Russian roubles) (Reporting By Tatiana Ustinova)