By Oriakhi Loveth Omosefe
Minister Found Dead After Putin’s Government Reshuffle
Roman Starovoyt, who was dismissed as Russia’s transport minister by President Vladimir Putin on Monday,
has died of an apparent suicide shortly after his removal from office.
The Investigative Committee confirmed that the 53-year-old was found shot in his car in Odintsovo,
a suburb west of Moscow, and said that suicide is being treated as the most probable cause.
Reports indicate that Starovoyt used a service pistol reportedly an award issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs inside what appeared to be a Tesla Model X.
Some early accounts differed on precisely where his body was located either inside the vehicle or in nearby grass.
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Starovoyt had been appointed transport minister in May 2024,
following his term as governor of the strategic Kursk region,
which briefly came under Ukrainian incursion and later became the focus of a corruption investigation.
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The probe concerns alleged embezzlement in the construction of border defenses,
and it has already led to the arrest of his successor in Kursk, Alexei Smirnov,
and his deputy on charges involving over 1 billion rubles.
Analysts note that the timing of Starovoyt’s death just hours after his firing and his rapid removal from public office echo a series of recent unexplained deaths of Russian officials,
prompting comparisons to the Stalin-era purges.
Putin named Andrei Nikitin, former governor of Novgorod and deputy transport minister,
as acting transport minister immediately following Starovoyt’s dismissal.
The outgoing minister’s tenure had coincided with a sharp rise in Ukrainian drone activity that severely disrupted air traffic,
triggering thousands of delays and cancellations a crisis that officials say contributed to his removal .
The precise timing of Starovoyt’s death remains unclear. While the Kremlin said it occurred after his sacking,
some media and Telegram sources suggested the incident may have taken place overnight before the presidential decree.
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