Russia’s transportation minister found dead in what officials say was an apparent suicide

MOSCOW (AP) – Russian’s transport minister was found dead from a gunshot wound in an apparent suicide, investigators said Monday – news that broke hours after the Kremlin announced he had been dismissed by President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin did not give a reason for the firing of Roman Starovoit, who served as transport minister since May 2024, and it was unclear when exactly he died and whether it was related to an alleged embezzlement case, as some Russian media suggested.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, the top criminal investigation agency, said the body of Starovoit, 53, was found with a gunshot wound in his car parked in Odintsovo, a neighborhood just west of the capital where members of Russia’s elite live. A gun previously presented to him as an official gift was found next to his body.

A criminal probe was launched into the death, and investigators saw suicide as the most likely cause, according to committee’s spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko, who did not say when Starovoit died.

Russian media have reported that Starovoit’s dismissal could have been linked to an investigation into the embezzlement of state funds allocated for building fortifications in the Kursk region, where he served as governor before being appointed transportation minister.

The alleged embezzlement has been cited as one of the reasons for deficiencies in Russia’s defensive lines that failed to stem a surprise Ukrainian incursion in the region launched in August 2024. In the stunning attack, Ukraine’s battle-hardened mechanized units quickly overwhelmed lightly armed Russian border guards and inexperienced army conscripts. Hundreds were taken prisoner.

The incursion was a humiliating blow to the Kremlin – the first time the country’s territory was occupied by an invader since World War II.

The Russian military had announced its troops had fully reclaimed the border territory in April – nearly nine months after losing chunks of the region.

Starovoit’s successor as Kursk governor, Alexei Smirnov, stepped down in December and was arrested on embezzlement charges in April. Some Russian media have alleged that Starovoit also could have faced charges as part of the investigation.

His dismissal also followed a weekend of travel chaos as Russian airports were forced to ground hundreds of flights due to Ukrainian drone attacks. Most commentators said, however, that the air traffic disruptions have become customary amid frequent Ukrainian drone raids and were unlikely to have triggered his dismissal.

An official order releasing Starovoit from his post was published on the Kremlin’s website Monday morning without giving a reason for his dismissal.

Shortly before the news of Starovoit’s death broke, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the reasons behind his dismissal.

Peskov praised Starovoit’s replacement, Andrei Nikitin, who had been appointed deputy transport minister five months ago.