Overview

• President Vladimir Putin’s decree on July 7 relieved Roman Starovoit, 53, of his transport minister role and appointed Deputy Andrei Nikitin as acting minister.
• Starovoit’s body was discovered hours later in his car in the Odintsovo district with a gunshot wound, and the Investigative Committee has opened a case on what it regards as an apparent suicide.
• The Kremlin offered no reason for his dismissal, and spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied it reflected a loss of trust.
• Russia’s transport sector has faced recent disruptions from Ukrainian drone incursions and an ammonia leak at Ust-Luga port that grounded hundreds of flights.
• The events unfold against an anti-corruption campaign in the Kursk region, where Starovoit’s former subordinates have been charged with embezzlement.