Former transport minister dismissed by Putin on Monday found dead

Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit, who was dismissed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, was found dead outside Moscow, the Russian Investigative Committee reported, which is considering suicide as the main cause of his death.

"The investigation is currently establishing the circumstances of Roman Starovoit's death," the institution said in a statement published on its Telegram.

The report states that the official was found with "a gunshot wound in his private vehicle" in the town of Odintsovo, just outside Moscow.

"The main hypothesis is suicide," according to the researchers.

Starovoit, 53, a former governor of the Kursk region, took over the transport portfolio in May 2024.

According to some Russian media, the official may have committed suicide on the night of July 5-6 with his honorary Makarov pistol, which was presented to him in 2023 in recognition of his service.

However, the popular Telegram channel Mash claims that the former Transport Minister held a meeting with his subordinates this morning, then said goodbye and went home, next to where his lifeless body was later found.

Starovoit was replaced as head of the Kursk region by Alexei Smirnov, who was arrested last April on charges of corruption and fraud in the construction of defensive lines along the border with Ukraine.

Russian Telegram channels claim that Starovoit could face up to 20 years in prison for fraud and embezzlement after other politicians, including Smirnov, testified against him.

In August 2024, three months after Starovoit left Kursk to take up his government post, the Ukrainian Armed Forces invaded and occupied part of that region, from which they were only expelled last April.

Hours after Starovoit's dismissal, Putin appointed Andrei Nikitin, previously a deputy minister of the same portfolio, as his replacement at the head of the Transport Ministry .

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated today that Starovoit's dismissal was not related to a loss of confidence in him.

"The (dismissal) decree usually states that it is due to a loss of confidence when this happens," said Peskov, who insisted that the official document did not include this clarification on this occasion.