On Monday, July 7, President Vladimir Putin formally relieved Starovoit of his duties. Andrei Nikitin, former governor of the Novgorod Region, was appointed as acting minister.
News of Starovoit’s death surfaced later that same day. State Duma deputy and head of the defense committee Andrei Kartapolov confirmed that the former minister had committed suicide.
His body was discovered by his personal security detail, as revealed by the Telegram channel Shot. The guards arrived at the scene in an official Aurus vehicle and found Starovoit dead in his Tesla near Malevich Park in the Odintsovo district at approximately 3 p.m.
Just that morning, Starovoit had held a final meeting with ministry officials. According to Telegram outlet Mash, the meeting coincided with the public announcement of his dismissal. He reportedly bid farewell to his subordinates before departing for home.
Subsequent reports indicate that investigators were preparing to detain the former minister later that same evening. According to RT, Starovoit was to be brought in for questioning by the Investigative Committee of Russia and was expected to face charges related to the embezzlement of millions in state funds.
Testimony against Starovoit came from his former subordinate, Alexei Smirnov—now serving as governor of the Kursk Region—who has been arrested for the alleged theft of over one billion rubles during the construction of defense infrastructure near the border. Additional testimonies were given by Vladimir Lukin, CEO of the Kursk Region Development Corporation, and deputy Maksim Vasiliev—both of whom are also in pretrial detention.
In a parallel development, Deputy Chief of the Property Management Department of the Railway Transport Agency under the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Korneichuk, died suddenly during a work meeting. According to Telegram channel Baza, the 42-year-old collapsed and died during a ministry session held at the Transport Ministry’s building on Stara Basmannaya Street in Moscow. No further details have been released.
