In shocking political developments in Russia, former Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was found dead Monday just hours after President Vladimir Putin officially fired him from his post. He is thought to have killed himself, and Russian news reports said he had been found in or around his Tesla Model X in a town west of Moscow.
Starovoit's death was the latest blow to the Russian authorities over the recent infrastructure failures and corruption scandals. He had been transport minister since May 2024, having been the head of the Kursk region for almost five years. The area, which is adjacent to Ukraine, was at the center of the fighting in the war. Ukrainian forces have at times even briefly taken control of parts of the region—a shocking event in post-World War II Russia.
In Kursk, a large-scale corruption case is underway related to the embezzlement of more than 1 billion rubles (about $12.7 million). The money was supposed to go toward constructing defensive fortifications in the area. Starovoit's replacement as governor, Alexei Smirnov, and his deputy have already been detained on suspicion of embezzlement. Starovoit had been under investigation for his part in the suspected crimes, according to Russian media reports.
Some Russian Telegram channels with close ties to the security services claimed that Starovoit had shot himself; others reported that his body was found several meters from his car, buried in bushes. The Investigative Committee said a criminal case has been opened and an autopsy ordered to establish the cause of death.
There's also the lack of clarity over the timeline. Some reports indicate that he died on Saturday or overnight on the night of July 5 and 6, and his official dismissal occurred on Monday. Curiously enough, on Sunday—just the day before his death was made public—Starovoit had presided over a meeting on an ammonia leak from a tanker in the port of Ust-Luga. No photos or footage were ever released of that meeting, adding to the suspicions.
His departure comes after a tumultuous few weeks for Russia's transportation system. Some 500 flights were delayed or grounded between July 5 and 6 because of Ukrainian drone strikes on Moscow and St. Petersburg airports. There was also a powerful blast at Ust-Luga port that resulted in an ammonia spill and prompted an emergency response. Public and political frustration has grown with these repeated breakdowns.
The Russian president believes former Novgorod region governor and deputy transport minister since February Andrei Nikitin is more suitable to handle the new tasks the ministry is facing, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Starovoit's sacking saw Nikitin take up the post of acting transport minister straight away.
Some analysts saw Starovoit's death as a grim indicator of the pressure that senior Russian officials are under, particularly with intensifying anti-corruption campaigns, losses in war, and internal political strains. It was a "stark sign" of how top officials see no way out from the system anymore except death, said Alexandra Prokopenko, a researcher for the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
It is viewed as the first suicide of a senior Russian official since the Ukraine war and perhaps the most high-profile death connected to internal discord over the simmering war.
