Criminal case: puzzle about shot Moscow minister – Putin fired him

A few hours after his release by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, Russia’s Minister of Transport Roman Starowoit was found in the temple near his place of residence with a gunshot wound. “The circumstances of the incident are currently being investigated. The main version is suicide,” said the spokeswoman for the investigative authority, Swetlana Petrenko. According to her, the 53-year-old’s body was found in his private car.

The Kremlin-close telegram channel “Shot” with more than a million subscribers showed videos in the early evening, as investigators did not pull Starowoit’s body out of the car, but carry it out of a bush. You can also see a Tesla that the minister is said to have driven privately. His assistant can also be seen on videos, she is said to have been his lover and identified the father of the family.

Many questions and a second death in the ministry

Previously, numerous Russian media had reported that the politician is said to have shot himself at his place of residence Odinzowo in the Moscow area. The gun is said to have been next to him.

Several bloggers doubted the official version of the investigative committee and said that the case revealed many questions. For various reports, according to which the minister is said to have committed suicide at the weekend, there was initially no official confirmation.

Several media also reported another enigmatic death in the Ministry of Transport on Monday. A rank -high civil servant, which is often mentioned, is said to have died there at a meeting. We are talking about cardiac arrest – there was initially no official confirmation.

Speculation about power games and murder

Commentators in political telegram channels speculated that Starowoit could have been shot in the course of power games or forced to suicide. Other cases of criminal prosecution of ministers or rank -high civil servants had shown in the past that a conviction for a prison sentence was no reason to commit suicide because the conditions for detention for such relatives of the work of power were comfortable and that the punishments would not be served to the end.

In the decree of Putin, published in Moscow on Monday, there are no reasons why the former governor of the West Russian area Kursk, which was only promoted in May last year, had to clear his post again. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskow also did not comment on the reasons. The sometimes used wording of loss of trust was missing in the decree, as Peskow confirmed.

Andrej Nikitin, who was previously Starowoit’s deputy, was appointed Managing Minister of Transport.

Increased in scandal for the lack of border protection in Kursk?

It was unclear why Starowoit might have committed suicide. According to the media, the politician of the Kremlin party could have been blamed by his time as governor of the Tense Governor in which Ukrainian troops had taken dozens of towns in August.

Starowoit’s successor as governor, Alexej Smirnow, was arrested for alleged fraud. Smirnow became governor of Kursk in May 2024. After entering Ukrainian troops into the area, he had to step down in December 2024.

The procedure against Smirnow is about the fact that funds for the construction of fastening systems on the border to Ukraine are not said to have been issued accordingly. The fact that the Ukrainian troops were apparently able to march in there without any problems had been horrified by Russia and triggered critical questions.

Also suspected other reasons for discharge

These fastening lines were allegedly built against Ukraine shortly after the beginning of Putin’s war of aggression. As governor, Starowoit had already reported the completion of these systems upwards. Then the Ukrainian troops invaded.

Nothing is known about investigations against Starowoit. However, media reported in Moscow that he could be targeted by the investigators. Accordingly, he could have threatened up to 20 years in prison if there was a conviction for embezzlement of funds in the construction of the border protection systems.

Russian commentators also cited chaos on the Russian airports as a possible reason for the release. Due to the frequent Ukrainian drone attacks, hundreds of flights recently failed in the middle of the holidays. Passengers were sometimes at thousands because no starts and landings are possible. The Russian newspaper “Kommersant” reported high financial losses in the aviation industry on Monday.