Russia’s recently dismissed transport minister, Roman Starovoit, was found dead with a gunshot wound in his car outside Moscow on Monday, just hours after President Vladimir Putin signed a decree removing him from office.
The Investigative Committee, which handles major criminal cases, confirmed the discovery and said suicide was being considered as the primary line of inquiry, although the exact circumstances of his death remained under investigation.
The official Kremlin decree announcing Starovoit’s dismissal did not give a reason. However, political analysts swiftly speculated that it might be linked to an ongoing investigation into corruption in the Kursk region, which Starovoit governed before becoming transport minister in May 2024.
A transport industry insider, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the case, told reporters that Starovoit’s position had been under scrutiny for months because of his alleged involvement in the misappropriation of funds meant for strengthening the Russian border with Ukraine.
Reports from Russian media indicated that a firearm registered to Starovoit was found beside his body.
During his tenure as Kursk governor, Starovoit oversaw the region through intense conflict. In 2024, just three months after his appointment as transport minister, Ukrainian forces launched a major incursion into the Kursk region — the largest cross-border attack on Russian soil since World War Two. It was only repelled earlier this year following heavy fighting.
The controversy deepened in April when Starovoit’s successor, Alexei Smirnov, was formally charged with embezzling funds earmarked for military defences in Kursk. The allegations suggested that the corruption had compromised the region’s security and left it more exposed to Ukrainian attacks.
When asked on Monday whether Starovoit’s dismissal signified a loss of trust by Putin, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov replied, “A loss of trust is mentioned if there is a loss of trust. There is no such wording in the decree.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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