Turmoil in Russia's Transport Ministry: Minister's Mysterious Death Amid Corruption Scandal

Russia's former transport minister was found dead with a gunshot wound shortly after being dismissed by President Putin. His removal, linked by analysts to a corruption scandal in the Kursk region, comes amid significant challenges in the transport sector due to the ongoing war's impacts.

A former Russian transport minister was found dead outside Moscow just hours after his dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, with the leading hypothesis being suicide, according to official investigators. Roman Starovoit's abrupt firing has been speculated to be linked to a corruption investigation during his tenure as governor of the Kursk region.

Starovoit, dismissed through a presidential decree that omitted reasons, was reportedly under scrutiny for corruption related to funds meant for fortifying the Russia-Ukraine border, though this has not been independently verified. Conflicting reports surround the timing of his death, but a pistol was reportedly discovered by his side.

Prior to his brief tenure as transport minister, Starovoit had been governor of a region that witnessed the largest foreign incursion into Russian territory since World War Two. His firing raises questions, amid a reshuffling in the transport sector grappling with wartime challenges – reflected by the immediate appointment of Andrei Nikitin as the acting transport minister.

(With inputs from agencies.)