Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin is pictured meeting Roman Starovoit on January 30, 2025 in the Kremlin. Kremlin
Russian transport minister dies by suicide after dismissal
Roman Starovoit, Russia’s former Transport Minister, died by suicide just hours after being dismissed from his position by President Vladimir Putin on Monday, according to officials.
Putin’s decision to remove Starovoit was formalized with a decree published on the Kremlin’s official website Monday morning. Following his dismissal, Deputy Minister Andrey Nikitin was named acting minister, CNN reported.
When pressed by reporters regarding the reasons for the firing, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refuted suggestions that it stemmed from “a lack of trust” but did not provide an alternative explanation.
The Russian Investigative Committee released a statement, noting that Starovoit’s body was found with a gunshot wound in a car located in Odintsovo, a suburb of Moscow. The committee said while the circumstances of his death are still under investigation, suicide is considered the primary theory.
Appointed Transport Minister in May 2024, Starovoit had previously served as governor of the southern Kursk region. Although he stepped down before Ukraine’s unexpected incursion there, he was partly held at fault for security lapses in the area.
Starovoit’s dismissal coincided with widespread disruption in Russian air travel. The Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport reported that, over the weekend and into Monday, 485 flights were canceled, 88 were diverted, and 1,900 experienced delays.
Authorities attributed the disruptions to “external interference,” without elaborating further. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry reported intercepting more than 400 long-range Ukrainian strikes during this period.