Roman Starovojt, until Monday morning the Minister of Transport of Russia, was found dead in his car. The Russian state news agency Tass reports this. The first findings of a investigated investigation would indicate suicide, according to the official reading of a Russian investigation committee.
On Monday morning, President Vladimir Putin fired the minister by decree, a more than year after his appointment in May 2024. The Kremlin did not mention a reason for the dismissal. A few hours after the message came out, according to the reports, Starovojt was found dead in his car with a shot wound just outside Moscow.
An anonymous initiate tells Reuters news agency that the position of Starovojt had been under pressure for some time. Starovojt was governor of the Southwest region Koersk, where Ukraine invaded last August until May 2024.
In the period after the raid, several ministers were arrested by the police on suspicion of corruption. Among other things, it would include the embezzlement of money intended for the defense of the region, according to The Moscow Times. Russian state media suggest that the resignation of Starovojt may be related to the corruption case.
The Kremlin replaced Starovojt on Monday with Andrei Nikitin, who now acts as acting Minister of Transport.