Russian Minister found dead hours after being sacked by Putin

Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was found dead in his car on Monday, just hours after being dismissed from his post by President Vladimir Putin, according to local officials.

Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for Russia’s State Investigative Committee, confirmed that Starovoit’s body was discovered in his personal vehicle with a gunshot wound. Authorities are currently investigating the scene.

The cause of death is being “preliminarily classified as suicide,” state-run news agency TASS reported.

Earlier that same day, President Putin relieved Starovoit of his duties and appointed Andrey Kinitin as acting transport minister.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasized that the dismissal was not due to a “loss of trust,” noting that such language would have been explicitly stated in the presidential decree, according to TASS.

The official decree, signed by Putin on Monday morning, confirmed Starovoit’s removal from office. He had served as transport minister since May 2024.

Prior to that, Starovoit was governor of the Kursk region for several years. The region was invaded by Ukrainian forces three months after he became transport minister. Ukrainian troops held the area until April of this year, when Russian forces regained control.