there was a shocking turn of events that took hold of Russia on Monday when President Vladimir Putin signed a decree stripping Roman Starovoit of his role as Transport Minister, just hours before the late minister was discovered dead in mysterious circumstances. the dramatic timing led to immediate speculation about motive, with investigators pointing towards suicide, but the political background and probes into corruption have fueled broader rumors.
Sudden Sacking and Mysterious Death Early on the morning of July 7, 2025, a presidential decree suddenly materialized to fire Starovoit. No explanation was made public. By the afternoon, his body was discovered in a Tesla vehicle parked in Odintsovo, a western Moscow suburb, with one bullet wound to the head. A pistol, an official decoration, was assumed to be lying beside him. Russia's Investigative Committee soon labeled the death an "apparent suicide."
Career and Context Starovoit, 53, became Transport Minister in May 2024, following five years as Governor of Kursk Oblast. His tenure in Kursk coincided with a massive Ukrainian cross-border incursion during August 2024, and he was then indicted over siphoning off federal funds of about 19.4 billion roubles ($246 million), allocated to border defenses. His previous deputy, Alexei Smirnov, was arrested in April for corruption on these issues and reportedly provided testimony against him.
Transport Crisis The transport sector was in a mounting crisis amid Ukrainian drone raids that suspended flights and extended the rail network. The dismissal of Starovoit came on top of more than 500 flight cancellations and 1,500 delays over the weekend. Experts view the situation on air and rail networks as accelerating his downfall, though Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described it as not containing any obvious mention of "loss of trust."
Question and Conspiracy Theories While the official explanation is suicide, inconsistencies such as conflicting reports about whether he was inside or outside the car have sown suspicion. State media rushed to publish photos of the award gun, which invited comparisons with other prestigious "suspicious deaths" like Prigozhin's 2023 plane crash. CEO concerns in the backdrop of an anticorruption campaign further add to suspicions.
Postmortem and Leadership Change Hours after his passing, Putin appointed his former Novgorod Governor Andrei Nikitin, Starovoit's deputy, as acting Transport Minister. Nikitin promised to "digitalize logistics and remove systemic bottlenecks." Speculation meanwhile continues on the death of Starovoit, with a criminal investigation ongoing even as the Kremlin imposes a strict gag on the facts.