Roman Starovoit, the former Russian transport minister, died by suicide on Monday. Officials said the unfortunate incident happened just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin fired him from his job that morning. The 53-year-old had helmed the post a little over a year.
As per the announcement of his dismissal published on the official Kremlin website, his deputy Andrey Nikitin was appointed acting minister.
According to a statement by the Investigative Committee of Russia, Roman Starovoit’s was found dead inside a car in Odintsovo, a suburb in Moscow. As he was found with a gunshot wound, the committee has so far pin-pointed the “the main theory” as suicide while further investigation is ongoing.
The gun Starovoit reportedly used to shoot himself is believed to be the one the ministry of internal affairs awarded to him two years ago, as per a Daily Mail report.
Putin fired Roman Starovoit Monday morning
Addressing his removal, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refuted the swift change was fuelled by a “lack of trust.” However, no other reason was cited to back the decision at the time.
On the day of his death and firing, Russian media reported that Starovoit is said to have been linked to a case of embezzlement of state funds that were put aside for building fortifications. Multiple shows, including state TV program Vesti and Russian independent business media outlet RBC, in addition to business newspaper Kommersant, said that he was also a significant subject of investigation around the matter, as well as facing an arrest.
The deceased minister’s successor in the governor job, Alexei Smirnov, was also arrested in connection with the same alleged embezzlement case in April 2024.
Starovoit came in as a minister in May 2024. Prior to this role, he was the governor of the southern Russian Kursk region. He ultimately left the post before the Ukrainian attack, but, in some part, the blame for failing security measures in the region – sharing the border with Ukraine – fell on him. The 53-year-old politician held his governor role for more than five years.
This is a developing story.