Russia’s transport minister found dead after dismissal by Putin, in apparent first suicide of a top official
On Monday morning, the Kremlin announced that Roman Starovoit had been dismissed from his post as Russia’s transport minister. Just hours later, news broke that he had been found dead from a gunshot wound — an apparent suicide. Starovoit, who previously served as governor of Russia’s Kursk Region, had reportedly been under investigation for embezzlement during the construction of defensive structures along the border with Ukraine. But exactly when he died remains unclear. One Telegram channel reported that he was at the ministry on Monday morning, while several other sources say he died well before the announcement of his “dismissal,” possibly on Saturday night. Here’s what we know so far about the death of Russia’s transport minister.
Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit, who was officially dismissed from his post on the morning of July 7, has died by suicide, according to the Telegram channels Mash, 112, and Shot, which have ties to law enforcement, as well as a source in the emergency services cited by RIA Novosti. The information was later confirmed by Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko. According to the Investigative Committee, Starovoit’s body was found with a gunshot wound inside his car in the Moscow region’s Odintsovsky District. “The leading theory is suicide,” said Petrenko.
A commemorative pistol was found at the scene, RBC reported, citing a law enforcement source. Mash claims the former minister shot himself with a service weapon awarded to him by Interior Ministry leadership in 2023. At the time, it was reported that Starovoit received the pistol “for assisting [the Interior Ministry] in fulfilling its duties.”
Shortly after news of Starovoit’s death emerged, Telegram channels close to law enforcement reported that Alexey Smirnov — the former governor of the Kursk region who is currently under arrest — had testified against him. Smirnov is a suspect in a criminal case involving the alleged embezzlement of at least one billion rubles in state funds during the construction of defense fortifications on the Ukrainian border. RBC, citing a source, wrote that Starovoit had indeed been under investigation for possible involvement in the same scheme in the Kursk Region.
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A source close to Russian state investigators told Forbes Russia that Starovoit died more than a day ago, “presumably overnight between Saturday and Sunday.” The Kremlin announced Starovoit’s dismissal on the morning of July 7. That afternoon, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on the dismissal. Meanwhile, Mash reported that Starovoit had been at work at the Transport Ministry on the morning of Monday, July 7, and had even held a meeting. According to Mash, Starovoit’s body was found at around 3:00 p.m. Moscow time on Monday. However, Andrey Kartapolov, the head of the State Duma Defense Committee, told RTVI the suicide had occurred “quite some time ago.”
Starovoit served as governor of the Kursk region from October 2018 until May 2024. He was succeeded by Alexey Smirnov, who had previously been deputy governor. Starovoit was then appointed Russia’s transport minister.
Alexey Smirnov was detained on April 15, 2025, and formally arrested the next day. He was placed in pretrial detention along with Alexey Dedov, the former first deputy governor of the Kursk region. Both men were charged with large-scale fraud carried out by an organized group using their official positions. Investigators allege that Smirnov and Dedov led the group and, together with executives from the Kursk Region Development Corporation, embezzled more than one billion rubles ($12.7 million) in budget funds. The corporation served as the general contractor for defense fortification projects along the Ukrainian border, and the stolen funds had been allocated for engineering works. Three executives from the corporation had previously been arrested in the case.
Smirnov served as governor for only a few months. In August 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces crossed into the Kursk region, and in December, Vladimir Putin accepted Smirnov’s resignation “at his own request.” Smirnov has denied the fraud charges. Kommersant reported that he refused to testify during questioning, stating that he needed time to review the indictment and prepare a response.
