Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoyat allegedly shot himself on Monday. He was removed from his post by President Vladimir Putin a few hours ago. According to Russian news agencies, he shot himself in a suburb in Moscow. The investigating agency said his body was found in his car.
In the order of Putin released on the government website, no reason for the dismissal of Starovoyat was given. Starovoyat was made the Minister of Transport in May 2024. Earlier, he was the governor of the Kursk area adjacent to Ukraine and held the position for about five years. It was informed by Kremlin that former Governor Andrei Nikitin of Novgorod region has been appointed as Executive Transport Minister.
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When questioned about the sudden dismissal of Starovoy and the immediate appointment of Nikitin, President’s office spokesperson Dimitri Peskov said, “According to President Vladimir Putin, Andre Nikitin has the experience and merit that is currently needed.” Because the ministry that is being talked about (Ministry of Transport) is very important, and the President wants this department to fulfill its responsibilities well.
Two sources in the transport sector told the Reuters that a plan to bring Nikitin was already being made and it was already fixed from the International Economic Forum held in St. Petersburg last month. The dismissal of Starovoye was at a time when many major problems were reported in Russia’s aviation and shipping sector.
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On July 5 and 6, just 300 flights had to be canceled at several big airports in Russia due to Ukrainian drone attacks on July 5 and 6, just before he was removed from the post. In addition, there was a blast in a tanker at the razor-port of Leningrad area, causing ammonia leakage on 6 July and had to take emergency action.
However, a source in the transport industry sector told Reuters that the status of Starovoyte was long ago. They were less connected to transport failures and more than corruption spread in cruc.
A few months after being removed from the post of governor, Ukrainian soldiers infiltrated the Kursk region. This was considered by Ukraine the biggest military action taken by Ukraine after World War II. However, earlier this year, the Russian army drove him away from there.
Later some local local officials were arrested on charges of misuse of the post. In April, the successor of Starovoy and current Governor Alexi Smirnov was accused of embezzling the amount of defense budget.
