Ex-Russian Transport Minister commits suicide hours after Vladimir Putin fires him

Starovoit shot himself dead in a Moscow suburb after the dismissal was announced, Russian news agencies reported.

The country's Investigative Committee said his body was found in his car.

Putin's decree, published on Russia's legal information portal, provided no reason for the dismissal of Starovoit after barely a year on the job.

He was appointed transport minister in May 2024 after spending almost five years as the governor of the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.

Andrei Nikitin, a former governor of the Novgorod region, had been appointed acting transport minister, the Kremlin said.

On Starovoit's sudden departure and Nikitin's swift appointment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "At present, in the president's opinion, Andrei Nikitin's professional qualities and experience will best contribute to ensuring that this agency, which the president described as extremely important, fulfils its tasks and functions."

Two transport industry sources told Reuters that plans to replace Starovoit with Nikitin had been in the works since before last month's International Economic Forum in St Petersburg.