MOSCOW (AP) — Russian’s transport minister was found dead Monday, hours after being dismissed by President Vladimir Putin, in what officials called an apparent suicide.
Roman Starovoyt, who served as Russia’s transport minister since May 2024, was fired in a presidential decree earlier in the day.
Hours later, the body of Starovoyt, 53, was found in his car with a gunshot wound, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the top criminal investigation agency.
A criminal probe has been launched into Starovoyt’s death and investigators see suicide as the most likely cause, according to committee’s spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko.
Russian media have reported that Starovoyt’s dismissal could have been linked to an investigation into the embezzlement of state funds allocated for building fortifications in the Kursk region where he served as governor before being appointed transportation minister.
The alleged embezzlement has been named as one of the reasons behind deficiencies in Russia’s defensive lines that failed to stem a Ukrainian incursion in the region that was launched in August 2024.
Starovoyt’s successor as Kursk governor, Alexei Smirnov, stepped down in December and was arrested on embezzlement charges in April. Some Russian media have alleged that Starovoyt also could have faced charges as part of the investigation.
Starovoyt’s dismissal also followed a weekend of travel chaos as Russian airports were forced to ground hundreds of flights due to Ukrainian drone attacks.
An official order releasing Starovoyt from his post was published on the Kremlin’s website Monday morning. It did not give a reason for his dismissal from the post, which Starovoyt has held since May 2024.
Shortly before the news about Starovoyt’s death broke, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the reasons behind his dismissal.
Peskov praised Starovoyt’s replacement, Andrei Nikitin, who had been appointed deputy transport minister five months ago.
