RUSSIA’S former transport minister has reportedly been found dead just hours after being fired by Vladimir Putin.
Roman Starovoit, who had held the post for less than a year, was dismissed earlier Monday amid escalating turmoil in Russia’s transport sector.
Hours later, reports surfaced that he was discovered deceased in his car at his residence in the exclusive Odintsovo area, adding another grim chapter to the Kremlin’s increasing pattern of mysterious fatalities.
There is no official confirmation – including the Kremlin’s – of his death at the moment.
However, major media channels associated with Russian security forces stated that the cause of death was suicide, alleging the minister was discovered with gunshot wounds.
The firearm, according to Russian media, was an award pistol issued to him in 2023 by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Some accounts say it was a Yarygin PYa pistol (Rook), or a Makarov.
Unconfirmed reports suggest he was killed using his own weapon.
Izvestiya, citing a source, said Starovoit had shot himself. The report was picked up by Reuters and Al Arabiya.
News of the death first broke via NextaTV on X, posting: “Former Russian Transport Minister, Fired by Putin Today, Found Dead.”
Putin has replaced Starovoit with his deputy, Andrei Nikitin, who immediately called for a reduction in cargo bottlenecks and promised stability.
Starovoit’s death is the most recent in a series of questionable fatalities involving Russian officials, oligarchs, and insiders following Mad Vlad’s initiation of the invasion of Ukraine.
Many have died in reported suicides, falls from windows or under mysterious circumstances, fuelling speculation about growing instability behind the Kremlin’s walls.
Starovoit’s sacking came amid unprecedented flight chaos in Russia linked to Ukrainian drones, with thousands of services delayed or cancelled.
A total of 485 flights were cancelled between Saturday and today, with 1,900 services delayed.
Some 43,000 ticket refunds have been issued so far, with 94,000 people accommodated in hotels by airlines.
Impatient passengers were marooned in overcrowded terminals, with worst hit airports being major hub Sheremetyevo in Moscow and Pulkovo in St Petersburg, where 7,000 stranded flyers were marooned this morning.
But multiple regional airports were hit too, including in Siberia.
The cost of the mayhem was put at £186 million – and rising.
“Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian airports are aimed at undermining air logistics,” said Telegram channel Kremlin Whisperer.
“Schedule disruptions, delays of hundreds of flights, suspension of operations at five airports – all this is becoming not just a tactical, but a strategic action aimed at shaking the usual rhythm of life and demonstrating the vulnerability of the system.”
However, no civilian airport was directly hit in recent days by Ukrainian drones.
Putin was said to have been displeased with Starovoit for failing to implement a crisis management plan to cope with the fallout from the war, including Western sanctions of plane repairs.
The reasons behind Starovoit’s abrupt firing remain officially unspecified, but reports swirl of a corruption investigation linked to his past tenure as governor of the Kursk region.
That area saw parts of its territory seized by Ukrainian forces last year.
His successor, Alexey Smirnov, was recently detained for embezzlement during the construction of border fortifications — and one version suggests he may have testified against Starovoit.
