Russian Transport Minister dies by suicide after President Putin fired him

Russian Transport Minister, Roman Starovoit was found dead in his own car in suspected suicide after President Vladimir Putin fired him from his role on Monday.  

According to Russian authorities Starovoit was found dead with a gunshot wound in Odintsovo near Moscow, which they have concluded as suicide. The dead body was found in the Minister’s Tesla Model X, however investigation has been launched into the case to find more details and conclude suicide as the cause of death. 

Footage from the scene of the death of former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit has appeared online

Roman Starovoit's body was found in a Tesla Model X. Kremlin media reports that Starovoit could have been detained tonight by Investigative Committee officers for… pic.twitter.com/m6qqn9mfWs

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 7, 2025

The Russia’s Investigative Committee official Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement that the circumstances revolving around the incident are currently being established, while the main version is suicide.  

Starovoit’s dismissal was announced on the official Kremlin website with his deputy Andrey Nikitin appointed as the new acting minister. A spokesperson to Kremlin has revealed media that the reason behind Starvoit’s dismissal from his role was due to ‘lack of trust’, however he did not cite any other reason.  

A report from Kremlin media surfacing online also suggest that Starvoit could have been detained by tonight by investigative committe officers for questioning. He was also expected to be charged with multimillion dollar embesslement.  

Notably, Russia’s transportation industry has been facing severe issues from a while even before Starvoit’s death. As per reports, approxiamately 485 flights were cancelled, 88 were diverted and 1900 were delayed over the weekend to this monday. While the agency said that the cancellations were down to external interference, the russian defence ministry said that more than 400 Ukrainian strikes were expected during the same time to which the decision was taken.  

Stay Tuned with Associates Times for more updates on this developing story.