Russia’s former Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt died by suicide on Monday, July 7, 2025, just hours after President Vladimir Putin dismissed him from his post. According to a spokesperson from Russia’s Investigative Committee quoted by the state-run TASS news agency, authorities found Starovoyt in his car in the Odintsovo district of Moscow with a gunshot wound. Police investigators are working at the scene to determine the cause of death, and preliminary findings indicate suicide as the primary theory.
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The Kremlin published the presidential decree announcing Starovoyt’s dismissal but did not specify any reason. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that the removal involved a “loss of trust,” explaining that the decree did not include such language. However, Russian business newspaper Vedomosti, citing anonymous government sources, reported that officials had decided to replace Starovoyt several months ago.
Starovoyt Dismissal Linked to Kursk Incursion; Andrei Nikitin Appointed Acting Transport Minister
Starovoyt, aged 53, served as Transport Minister since May 2024, shortly after Putin’s re-election, holding the position for just over a year. Before that, he governed the southwestern Kursk region from 2018 to 2024. His tenure came under scrutiny following a Ukrainian military incursion into Kursk in August 2024, which revealed weaknesses in the region’s border defenses.
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Although authorities did not formally charge Starovoyt, they arrested his successor as governor, Alexei Smirnov, and former deputy Alexei Dedov in April for allegedly embezzling defense funds. Kommersant newspaper reported that Smirnov and other suspects recently testified against Starovoyt. Political analyst Yevgeny Minchenko called Starovoyt’s dismissal “predictable,” linking it to the “Kursk region situation.”
Deputy Transportation Minister Andrei Nikitin replaced Starovoyt as acting transport minister. Putin met with Nikitin and urged him to focus on addressing the urgent challenges in the transport sector. Nikitin had joined the ministry as deputy in February after resigning as governor of the Novgorod region. Two transport industry sources told Reuters that officials had planned for Nikitin to replace Starovoyt before last month’s International Economic Forum in St Petersburg.