Russian Ex-Minister Found Dead After Dismissal, Probe

Roman Starovoit, Russia's former transport minister and ex-governor of the Kursk region, was found dead from a gunshot wound in his car near Moscow just hours after President Vladimir Putin dismissed him from office. Authorities are treating the case as a likely suicide, with a pistol registered to Starovoit found at the scene, but the precise timing of his death remains unclear. Starovoit's dismissal and death are connected to a widening corruption probe involving embezzlement of border defense funds during his time in Kursk, particularly following a major Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory in 2024. His successor, Alexei Smirnov, has already been arrested on related charges, and Russian media suggest Starovoit was also implicated. The incident adds to a series of mysterious deaths among Russian officials and has intensified scrutiny on Kremlin purges and the effects of corruption and war on Russia's elite. The Kremlin has not publicly commented on the reasons for Starovoit's dismissal or the circumstances of his death.