Russian TASS reported on July 7 that Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for the Russian Investigative Committee, stated that the former Minister of Transport, Stanislav Starovoit, had committed suicide in his car on the same day he was removed from his post.

The Investigative Committee stated that today, in a private car in the city of Oдинцово (Moscow Oblast), the body of the former Russian Minister of Transport Roman Vladimirovich Starovoit, who had gunshot wounds, was found.

Investigative authorities have arrived at the scene. According to preliminary conclusions, Starovoit died by suicide.

"Izvestia" learned from sources that Starovoit's body was found in a car in the Malevich Park area.

Starovoit, 53 years old, was born in January 1972. From 2019 to 2024, he served as the Governor of Kursk Oblast. Since May 2024, he has been the Minister of Transport of Russia.

Earlier on the 7th, Russian President Putin signed an order to remove Starovoit from the position of Minister of Transport of Russia and announced the appointment of Andrei Peshkov as the acting Minister of Transport of Russia.

In the statement released by the Kremlin, no reason was given for Starovoit's dismissal. When asked about this, the President's press secretary Peskov stated that Putin believes that the professional skills and experience of the acting Minister of Transport, Peshkov, will most effectively ensure the completion of tasks for this extremely important department.

According to reports, Peshkov mentioned during a meeting with Putin that he would promote the digitalization of Russia's transportation industry to ensure smooth cross-border logistics.

In addition, Reuters reported that the Russian transportation sector is currently facing major challenges. The Russian aviation industry is experiencing shortages of parts, while the country's largest employer, Russian Railways, is bearing massive interest costs due to inflation caused by the war.

The European edition of "Politico" reported that Starovoit's dismissal coincided with Ukrainian drones attacking on the weekend, causing chaos in Russian air traffic.

According to data from the Federal Air Transport Agency and the Ministry of Transport of Russia, between Saturday and Monday (July 5-7), Russian airlines canceled 485 flights, 88 flights were forced to change routes, and 1,900 flights were delayed, resulting in refunds for 43,000 tickets and requiring 94,000 people to be accommodated in hotels with food provided. Russian media "Kommersant" stated that the traffic chaos cost billions of rubles (over ten million yuan).

Additionally, according to Reuters, citing two anonymous sources, the arrangement for Peshkov to replace Starovoit had already been initiated before the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last month.

Sources said that the reason for Starovoit's dismissal was not related to transportation issues, but rather a corruption scandal in Kursk. However, Reuters stated that it could not independently verify the authenticity of this claim.

In 2024, after Starovoit left his post as Governor of Kursk and took over as Minister of Transport for several months, Ukrainian forces crossed into Kursk, marking the largest foreign invasion of Russian territory since World War II. Although the Ukrainian forces were repelled in early 2024, several officials in Kursk were later arrested for abuse of power. Starovoit's successor, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with misappropriating defense funds in April of this year.

When asked whether the personnel adjustment was due to Putin losing trust in Starovoit, Peskov responded: "If there is a lack of trust, it would be mentioned. But there is no such expression in the presidential decree."

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