Russia (Europe Brief News) – Roman Starovoit, ex-Transport Minister, died from a gunshot near Moscow after his removal. Authorities start investigation as body discovered on Monday, July 7, 2025. Linked to a $246M corruption case on Kursk border defences.
As Aljazeera news reported, Roman Starovoit, who was Russia’s Transport Minister and earlier the governor of the Kursk region, was found dead from a gunshot near a Tesla car that had been left in a park close to Moscow on Monday, July 7, 2025. A pistol that was legally owned by him was found near the body, and investigators believe it may have been suicide.
They mentioned that his death happened just a few hours after President Vladimir Putin removed him from his position without giving any reason. Russia’s main investigation body, the Investigative Committee, has started a full case to understand how and why he died. Reports from government media say the wound looked like he shot himself, but the real reason is still unclear.
What led to Starovoit’s death after his dismissal?
Some political experts and news reports say Starovoit’s removal is linked to a corruption case. The 19.4 billion roubles under investigation were meant to build better defences on the border in the Kursk region in 2022.
But 3 months after Starovoit became Transport Minister, Ukrainian forces crossed the border in a major attack. It was the biggest attack of its kind since World War II. This made people question if the money was used the right way.
In April 2025, his former deputy and later governor, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with stealing the money. Smirnov said he did nothing wrong, but he told investigators that Starovoit was also part of the fraud. Officials mentioned that Starovoit was not named as a suspect before he died, but these new reports have affected his image.
According to the officials, Russia’s transport system is under heavy pressure because of the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions. The aviation industry is struggling because it cannot get enough spare parts. Russian Railways is also facing problems because of high interest rates.
They mentioned that drone attacks from Ukraine have made things worse by causing airport closures and delays. After Starovoit was removed, the Kremlin named Andrei Nikitin as the new acting Transport Minister. He was the former governor of the Novgorod region.
Kremlin speaker Dmitry Peskov said that Putin trusts Nikitin to handle the job during this hard time. Nikitin said he will work to improve the transport system by using better digital tools and by helping cargo and trade move more easily across borders.
