Ex-Russian transport minister Roman Starovoit found dead in suspected suicide hours after Putin's dismissal

Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was found dead on Monday, July 7, 2025, just hours after being removed from his post by President Vladimir Putin. Russian news agency TASS reported that Starovoit died by suicide, although the official cause of death is still under investigation.

According to a spokesperson from Russia’s Investigative Committee, Starovoit was discovered inside a car with a gunshot wound in the Odintsovo district, a suburb of Moscow. Investigators are still working at the scene but have said that early signs point to suicide as the reason behind his death.

The news of his death came shortly after a presidential decree announced that Starovoit had been dismissed from his ministerial position. The Kremlin website published the notice, but it did not give any specific reason for his removal.

When reporters asked about the dismissal, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the order did not include the phrase “loss of trust”, which is sometimes used in official documents when a government official is fired over serious concerns. He added that there was nothing unusual about the wording used in Starovoit’s dismissal.

However, a Russian business newspaper, Vedomosti, reported that sources inside the government claimed the decision to remove Starovoit had been made several months ago. These anonymous sources said the plan to replace him had already been in motion well before his dismissal was made public.

Starovoit faced pressure after Kursk region controversy

Roman Starovoit was 53 years old at the time of his death. He had been appointed as Russia’s Transport Minister in May 2024, shortly after President Putin won another term in office. Starovoit served in this role for just over a year.

Before becoming transport minister, Starovoit had a long political career. He served as Governor of the Kursk region—a southwestern area near the border with Ukraine—from 2018 to 2024. His performance as governor came under question after a Ukrainian military attack took place in Kursk in August 2024.

The attack highlighted weak border defenses in the region, and many believed the regional administration failed to secure the area properly. While Starovoit was never officially charged, the incident led to increased scrutiny of his time as governor.

Later in April 2025, Starovoit’s successor as governor, Alexei Smirnov, and former deputy, Alexei Dedov, were arrested for allegedly stealing government money meant for defense projects. The newspaper Kommersant reported that Smirnov and other suspects gave statements that implicated Starovoit in the case. Although he had not been formally accused of any wrongdoing, the situation may have added immense pressure on him.

According to political expert Yevgeny Minchenko, Starovoit’s removal from office was expected. Minchenko said that the problems in Kursk made it difficult for Starovoit to continue holding a top government role. “His dismissal was predictable,” Minchenko said.

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Andrei Nikitin takes over as acting transport minister

After Starovoit’s removal and sudden death, President Putin quickly appointed Andrei Nikitin, the Deputy Transport Minister, as the acting head of the ministry. Nikitin had joined the transport ministry only a few months earlier, in February 2025, after stepping down from his role as governor of the Novgorod region.

Soon after his appointment, Putin met with Nikitin and urged him to focus on the country’s transport challenges, which include modernising infrastructure, improving logistics, and enhancing safety across road, rail, air, and sea networks.

Two people working in Russia’s transport industry told Reuters that plans to appoint Nikitin as the next minister had been discussed even before the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg last month. This shows that the change in leadership was likely planned in advance, even if it was not publicly known.

The unexpected death of Roman Starovoit has shocked many across Russia and around the world. His apparent suicide, coming just hours after being dismissed from his job by President Putin, has raised many questions about the pressure faced by top officials in the Russian government.

Although no official reason was given for his removal, reports suggest that ongoing investigations into corruption in the Kursk region and the border security failures during his time as governor may have played a role. With other former officials already arrested and possibly testifying against him, Starovoit may have felt trapped or overwhelmed.

At the same time, his sudden replacement by Andrei Nikitin, someone whose appointment had already been planned, adds another layer of complexity to the story.

For now, investigators continue to examine the scene of Starovoit’s death, but the main theory remains suicide. The incident has once again drawn attention to the high-stress environment inside Russia’s top political circles and the uncertainty faced by officials who lose their positions under pressure.