Russian minister found dead hours after Putin fired him

Russia’s transport minister, who also previously served as governor of the Kursk region ahead of Ukraine’s 2024 incursion, was found dead just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin fired him from his ministerial role.

Roman Starovoyt, 53, was found dead from a gunshot wound in his car, and Russia’s Investigative Committee — Moscow’s chief criminal investigation agency — said it was looking into the circumstances surrounding his death, including suicide, according to multiple reports. 

Starovoyt oversaw the Kursk region for more than half a decade before he was made Transport Minister in May 2024.

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Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk — which ended earlier this year — not only shocked the international community with Moscow’s inability to immediately stop the incursion but prompted Russia to look towards allied nations like North Korea to send in additional boots on the ground.

The incident also garnered a swift rebuke from Putin and led to the arrest of at least two officials who were accused of embezzling funds that should have allegedly been used towards securing the border with Ukraine, reported Reuters in April. 

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Some reporting suggested that Starovoyt was aware his time as transport minister was likely to be cut short soon, though a report by East2West also noted that he left his office without saying goodbye to any of his colleagues.

“According to the source, he guessed about his upcoming dismissal, but found out only this morning,” the media outlet said. “At 9:15am, the news about the president’s order appeared.”

By 9:35 a.m. Starovoyt had apparently ordered his secretary to leave and then locked himself in his office. He then left the building around 10 a.m.

The Kremlin confirmed he was fired from the top job before it was revealed that Starovoyt was dead after his girlfriend, Polina Korneeva, 25, allegedly found him dead in an affluent neighborhood outside of Moscow. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed questions over whether Starovoyt had been terminated from his position over a loss of confidence, reported Russian news outlets.