Kremlin ‘shocked’ by likely suicide of ex-minister

Roman Starovoyt, who previously served as Kursk Region governor, reportedly ended his life hours after being dismissed from a ministerial post.

The Russian presidency has described the apparent suicide of recently fired Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt as “shocking,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Peskov said that “we have found this shocking too,” adding that the incident was immediately reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“This cannot but shock normal people,” Peskov stated. “Of course, information of this kind is always tragic and sad.”

The spokesman dismissed speculation that the minister was fired due to breach of trust, stressing that no such wording was used in a presidential decree on the matter. Peskov also warned against drawing any conclusions, stating that a probe into the incident was ongoing.

Starovoyt’s body was found beside the Tesla he had been driving near Malevich Park in the Moscow suburb of Odintsovo on Monday, hours after he was dismissed from his ministerial post. The ex-official reportedly took his own life by shooting himself in the head with a Makarov pistol, which he had previously been given as an award from the Interior Ministry.

Before becoming transport minister, Starovoyt served as governor of Kursk Region, which was invaded by Ukraine last August. The region is currently being rocked by a major graft probe involving top officials suspected of embezzlement of funds allocated for border defense construction.

Over 20 people have been detained in the probe, including Starovoyt’s former deputy, Aleksey Dedov, and his successor, Aleksey Smirnov. The latter official held the post from May to December last year, with most of it in an interim role, becoming one of the most short-lived governors in modern Russian history.

An RT source said an investigation against the ex-governor was about to begin over alleged embezzlement. Starovoyt was expected to be detained for questioning on Monday evening, the source claimed.