Russia’s former transport minister, Roman Starovoyt, has died by suicide just hours after President Vladimir Putin dismissed him from office, authorities announced Monday.
Starovoyt, 53, was discovered with a gunshot wound in his private vehicle in the Odintsovo district outside Moscow, according to a statement by Russia’s Investigative Committee. State media reported the body was found in a busy residential area near apartment blocks.
The former minister had served in his role for just over a year and was previously governor of the Kursk region, a border area that has seen repeated Ukrainian incursions during the ongoing war.
The Kremlin published a presidential decree earlier on Monday announcing Starovoyt’s dismissal, although Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov maintained the decision was “not linked to a loss of trust.”
His removal followed a chaotic weekend of flight disruptions at Russian airports, attributed to drone attacks blamed on Ukraine. Russian outlets also speculated his dismissal could be linked to a corruption investigation involving border fortification funds in Kursk.
In April, Starovoyt’s successor as Kursk governor, Alexei Smirnov, was arrested over the alleged embezzlement of more than $12 million meant for border defenses — part of a broader crackdown on graft in Russia’s defense infrastructure.
Following the dismissal, Putin appointed Deputy Minister Andrei Nikitin as acting transport minister, with the State Duma expected to vote on the nomination Tuesday.
Starovoyt, a native of Kursk, had frequently appeared alongside Putin during public engagements related to the Ukraine conflict.
