Roman Starovoit, Russia’s former Minister of Transport, was found dead on Monday, 7th of July, only hours after President Vladimir Putin removed him from office.
Authorities said he died by suicide in a suburb just outside Moscow, with the official investigation still ongoing.
Starovoit, who had been serving in the transport ministry since May 2024, was relieved of his duties earlier in the day through a presidential decree published on the Kremlin’s website.
His deputy, Andrey Nikitin, was appointed to take over in an acting capacity. When asked for details surrounding the dismissal, Kremlin officials declined to explain the reason behind it, though they denied it was due to any breach of trust.
Later that same day, Starovoit’s body was discovered in a parked vehicle in Odintsovo, a town near the capital.
A gunshot wound was found on his body, and Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed that suicide was currently the leading explanation, though they stated that further inquiries were underway to confirm the details.
Russian news agencies reported that Starovoit had recently come under scrutiny in a government investigation tied to corruption.
He was allegedly being investigated over the misuse of funds intended for military defense structures in the Kursk region.
Several media outlets, including the state-run Vesti and independent sources like RBC and Kommersant, reported that he could have been facing arrest in connection with the case.
The investigation had already led to the arrest of his former deputy and eventual successor as Kursk governor, Alexei Smirnov, who was detained in April on similar charges.
That investigation is still active, and Starovoit’s name had reportedly surfaced as a suspect in recent weeks.
The exact reason for his removal remains undisclosed, and the outcome of the corruption investigation remains unknown.