Roman Starovoit committed suicide after Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed him from his post as transport minister on Monday, an unnamed source told the Izvestia newspaper, which was cited by other Russian media. Starovoit was found dead in his car in Odintsovo, near Moscow, the Investigative Committee of Russia (Russia's equivalent of the Federal Criminal Police Office) later confirmed, which is also leaning towards suicide. The cause of death cannot be independently verified.
"The body of former Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt was found today (Monday) in a passenger car in Odintsovo with a gunshot wound. Investigative bodies are working at the scene, establishing the circumstances of what happened. The main version is suicide," said committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko, quoted by the TASS agency.
According to the Kommersant newspaper, a Makarov pistol was found near the former minister's body, which he received as an award in 2023 for special services to the safety of citizens.
The Kremlin did not give a reason for Starovoitov's unexpected dismissal. There was speculation on social media that the dismissed minister was facing criminal prosecution.
According to the newspaper Moskovskiy Komsomolets, Starovoitov was apparently testified against by his successor as head of the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, who has since been dismissed from his post as governor. In April, he was detained by investigators and accused of participating in the embezzlement of a billion rubles (about 270 million crowns) intended for the construction of fortifications on the border of the western Russian region with Ukraine. According to Kommersant, the defendants in this embezzlement case – including Smirnov – testified against Starovoitov.
The dismissal could have been due to problems in the department and Ukrainian attacks
Before his appointment as Minister of Transport in May 2024, Starovoyt served as Governor of the Kursk Region for almost five years. Just a few months after his transfer to the post of Minister, Ukraine launched a multi-month cross-border incursion into the region, which was the largest incursion of foreign troops into Russian territory since World War II, as recalled by Reuters. At that time, according to The Moscow Times, attention also turned to Starovoyt's work as head of the region.
Before becoming governor of the Kursk region, Starovoyt headed the federal transport agency Rosavtodor for six years.
Reuters also wrote that as the war against Ukraine continues into its fourth year, Russia's transport sector is experiencing serious problems. Aviation is suffering from a shortage of spare parts due to Western sanctions, and Russian Railways, the country's largest employer, is facing rising costs due to high interest rates imposed due to inflation, which is being fueled by the military conflict that Russia fully launched against its neighbor in February 2022.
After dismissing Starovoit, Putin appointed the current deputy, Andrei Nikitin, as acting head of the department. Nikitin resigned from his post as governor of the Novgorod region in February this year and became a deputy at the Ministry of Transport.
