Russia's former transport minister Starovoit commits suicide after dismissal

The country's Investigative Committee said his body was found in his car. NDTV reported.

Putin's decree, published on Russia's legal information portal, gave no reason for the dismissal of Starovoit after barely a year on the job. He was appointed transport minister in May 2024 after spending almost five years as the governor of the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.

Andrei Nikitin, a former governor of the Novgorod region, had been appointed acting transport minister, the Kremlin said.

Asked about Starovoit's sudden departure and Nikitin's swift appointment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "At present, in the president's opinion, Andrei Nikitin's professional qualities and experience will best contribute to ensuring that this agency, which the president described as extremely important, fulfils its tasks and functions."

Two transport industry sources told Reuters that plans to replace Starovoit with Nikitin had been in the works since before last month's International Economic Forum in St Petersburg.

Starovoit's dismissal followed a series of high-profile disruptions to Russia's aviation and shipping sectors.

Days before his departure, nearly 300 flights were grounded at major Russian airports on July 5-6 due to security threats from Ukrainian drone attacks. Adding to the turmoil, an explosion occurred aboard a tanker at the Ust-Luga port in Leningrad Oblast. The blast caused an ammonia leak on July 6, prompting an emergency response.

But, a transport industry source told Reuters that Starovoit's position had been in question for months, linked not to transport issues specifically but to the corruption scandals in Kursk.