Another shocking episode shook the Russian political circles when Roman Starovoit - former Minister of Transport, was found with a fatal gunshot wound in his personal car on July 7, 2025, in the outskirts of Moscow, in the settlement of Myakinino.
His working day ended at the ministry, where he learned about his own dismissal through media reports - an atypical and humiliating way of informing a high-ranking government official.
The official motives for his removal were related to the complete collapse of Russian airports after large-scale drone attacks. In parallel, Starovoit was involved in corruption investigations, with a potential sentence of up to two decades in prison for fraud.
His sudden death caused a massive public reaction and numerous speculations in the Russian information space.
Andrey Nikitin - an experienced politician and former regional governor, was appointed in his place, taking over the leadership of the transport ministry under extremely delicate circumstances.