Former Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit was discovered dead on Monday in an apparent suicide, just hours after the Kremlin suddenly revealed that President Vladimir Putin had actually dismissed him.A spokesperson from Russias Investigative Committee, which probes major criminal offenses, saidStarovoits body was found in his parking area in a Moscow suburb.The spokeswoman stated that authorities investigatorsare operating at the scene to figure out the cause of death, adding that initial findings point to suicide.
Unofficial reports in the Russian press claimed the ex-ministers body was really discovered on Saturday.PutindismissedStarovoit just over a year after selecting him, according to a decree released early Monday on the Kremlins site.
The decree, which took instant result, did not define the reason for Starovoits removal.Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov laterdismissed claims that the ex-minister had actually fallen out of favor with Putin.The presidentreplaced Starovoit withDeputy Transportation Minister Andrei Nikitin, who will now serve as acting transport minister.
According to anonymous sources cited by the organization paper Vedomosti, the decision to change Starovoit was made a number of months ago.Later on Monday, the Kremlin released a video of the president conference with Nikitin, telling the brand-new appointee: I hope you will use all your energy, understanding, abilities and organizational capabilities to deal with the critical challenges facing this sector.Nikitin resigned as guv of the northwestern Novgorod area in February to assume the deputy role.Putin had tapped Starovoit to lead the Transportation Ministry in May 2024 after he was chosen as president for another six-year term.
Before that, Starovoit functioned as guv of the southwestern Kursk region from 2018 to 2024.
His period as guv drew renewed examination following Ukraines surprise incursion into the Kursk area last August.
Since then, law enforcement authorities have actually made several prominent arrests, consisting of that of his follower Alexi Smirnov, over the alleged abuse of public funds.Smirnov and his previous deputy Alexei Dedov were detained in April andaccusedof embezzling 1 billion rubles ($12.7 million) from the Kursk Region Development Corporation that was implied to be used for constructing defense fortifications along the border with Ukraine.While Starovoit had actually not been directly linked in the ongoing police examinations, in the future Monday, the Kommersant company paper, pointing out unnamed sources, reported that suspects in the embezzlement case, including Smirnov, recently affirmed against him.Russian media previously reported that the breached border defenses, completedduringStarovoits time as governor, expense practically 15 billion rubles ($190 million) and took nearly 3 years to construct.Despite the large sums that entered into developing the strongholds, Ukrainian forces still handled to introduce their attack and quickly take large swaths of the Kursk region last summer season, dealing with little resistance.Political expert Yevgeny Minchenko called Starovoits dismissal predictable, including thatthe Kursk area circumstance has overtaken him.
Michenko also describedNikitin as aconservative candidate for his replacement.