Roman Starovoit, Russia’s former minister of transport was found dead in a car in Odintsovo, west of Moscow, on Monday, 7 July. His death, ruled by Russian authorities as a suicide, still remains veiled in mystery as his body was found hours after President Putin fired him form his position.
Starovoit was found with a gunshot wound, the Investigative Committee of Russia said. He was appointed minister in May 2024, after serving as the governor of the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine. Speculation surrounding Starovoit’s firing says that it was linked to an investigation on possible embezzlement of state funds destined to strengthen the defence of the region.
The former minister was partially blamed for the situation in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces managed to capture a significant portion of it in 2024. Starovoit’s predecessor in the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, was arrested for similar reasons in April. Russian media Kommersant went as far as stating that Starovoit was also facing an arrest.
Two deaths in one day
Monday, 7 July 2025 was definitely a dark day for the Russian ministry of transport. Other than the finding of Starovoit’s corpse, another official died on the same day: Andrey Korneichuk. Korneichuk was working for the Russian Federal Agency for Rail Transport (Roszheldor). Russian media claim he died from a heart attack and that there is no link between the two deaths.