Putin dismisses a minister, and hours later he is found dead in Moscow: the Roman Starovoit case

Roman Starovoit, Russia's former transport minister, was found dead inside his car in Odintsovo, near Moscow, suffering from a fatal gunshot wound . This discovery comes just hours after he was dismissed by President Vladimir Putin.

Although the Russian Investigative Committee notes that the main line of investigation is suicide, the circumstances raise more questions than answers in a country where the abrupt ends of public figures often leave a shadow of doubt.

Starovoit, 53, took over as Transport Minister in May 2024 after leaving the Kursk region governorate, where his administration was marked by controversy. Following his departure, the region experienced a partial invasion by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in August 2024, only to be recaptured by Russia last April.

His successor in Kursk, Alexei Smirnov, was arrested last April for corruption and fraud in contracts for defensive lines along the border with Ukraine, a situation that indirectly implicated Starovoit himself in the Russian political and media circles.

Hours before his death, Putin signed Starovoit's dismissal and appointed Andrei Nikitin, who was serving as deputy minister, as his replacement . Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov asserted that the dismissal "was not due to a loss of confidence," as has been the case in other Russian cases, raising even more questions about the reasons for his departure.

The Russian Investigative Committee said it is investigating the circumstances of Starovoit's death, while speculation on social media and in Moscow political circles is rife about the pressure he may have received after leaving office.

Although the official report is suicide, the timing of his dismissal and the rapid confirmation of his death fuel the perception that something else is lurking behind this case in a country that has experienced similar situations with other disgraced officials and oligarchs.