Former Russian transport minister found DEAD in vehicle

07/09/2025 / By Ramon Tomey

Roman Starovoit, a 53-year-old ex-Minister of Transport for Russia, was discovered dead in his vehicle in Moscow with a gunshot wound, officially ruled a suicide. The gun used was allegedly an official gift.
Discrepancies emerged about when Starovoit died, with some sources suggesting his suicide occurred before his dismissal by Putin. Corruption allegations linked to his tenure as Kursk governor, where funds for fortifications were allegedly embezzled, raised suspicions.
Shortly after Starovoit’s death, another Transport Ministry official, Andrei Korneichuk, collapsed and died (officially from a heart attack), fueling concerns due to Russia’s history of unexplained elite fatalities.
The deaths echo past authoritarian purges, such as Stalin’s Great Terror, with observers wary of a potential Kremlin-led crackdown amid military failures (e.g., Ukraine’s 2024 Kursk incursion) or internal dissent.
The incident joins a series of abrupt, often violent deaths of Russian elites – like Transneft VP Andrei Badalov’s fatal fall – underscoring the peril faced by officials in Putin’s Russia, whether from purges or silenced dissent.

A former chief of the Russian Ministry of Transport (MinTrans) was found dead with a gunshot wound inside his vehicle parked in Moscow’s Odintsovo neighborhood.

Authorities said Monday, July 7, that they found the body of 53-year-old former Transport Minister Roman Starovoit in his vehicle. Also found beside him was the gun he purportedly used to kill himself – an official gift presented to him earlier. Russian investigators labeled the former minister’s death a suicide.

Differing reports about Starovoit’s death further muddled the story. Forbes Russia, citing an anonymous source close to state investigators, reported that he died between July 5 and 6. Russian lawmaker Andrei Kartapolov, however, told news outlet RTVI that Starovoit took his own life “quite a while ago.”

Some insiders suggested the former transport minister may have killed himself well before he was axed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. While the timing of this demise raised alarms, whispers of corruption provided another possible motive.

Starovoit had previously served as governor of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces breached Russian defenses in a humiliating 2024 incursion – Russia’s first territorial loss since World War II. Allegations of embezzlement in Kursk’s fortification funds may have sealed his fate.

Mysterious deaths in Russia: Coincidence or Kremlin cleanup?

The sudden demise of another MinTrans official further fueled suspicions. Following the news of Starovoit’s death, 42-year-old Andrei Korneichuk collapsed during a business meeting and soon expired. Russian officials ruled the death of Korneichuk as a heart attack.

The proximity to Starovoit’s demise, alongside Russia’s history of suspicious official deaths, left observers wary. Indeed, these incidents are not isolated.

Earlier, Andrei Badalov, vice president of state oil giant Transneft, was found dead beneath a Moscow apartment window. According to the state-run TASS news agency, the 62-year-old had written a farewell message to his wife. Badalov’s death was another in a long line of Russian elites meeting abrupt, often violent ends. (Related: Russian energy oligarch found dead in his detention cell – the 40th high-profile Russian death since February 2022.)

Historically, purges under authoritarian regimes often follow military failures or internal dissent. Joseph Stalin’s Great Terror during the Soviet period saw executions of officials blamed for shortcomings. Decades after the fall of the USSR, modern Russia has faced recurrent waves of arrests – like the recent corruption crackdowns leading to the imprisonment of ex-Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov.

With Ukraine intensifying strikes and Putin facing scrutiny over battlefield losses, these deaths suggest either a ruthless cleanup of incompetence or a more sinister suppression of dissent. From defenestrations to poisonings, Putin’s Russia has seen numerous unexplained fatalities among critics or perceived liabilities.

Ultimately, the sudden deaths serve as a grim reminder: In Putin’s Russia, power and peril walk hand in hand.

Watch this video that posits how corruption may have played a role in the crash of the Russian Luna-25 spacecraft.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.