The former Governor of Kursk found dead by ball after the dismissal of Putin

The Russian Minister of Transport, who was also governor of the Kursk region before the incursion of Ukraine in 2024, was found dead only a few hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin drew him from his ministerial role.

Roman Starovoyt, 53, was found dead of a ball injury in his car, and the Russian investigation committee – the main criminal investigation agency of Moscow – said that he was examining the circumstances surrounding his death, including suicide, according to several reports.

Starovoyt supervised the Kursk region for more than half a decade before being appointed Minister of Transport in May 2024.

Russian Minister of Roman Transport Starovoyt arrives at a meeting by President Vladimir Putin of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at Kremlin in Moscow on May 7, 2025. (Maxim Shemetov / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

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Kursk’s invasion by Ukraine – which ended earlier this year – not only shocked the international community with Moscow’s inability to immediately stop the foray, but prompted Russia to turn to allied nations such as North Korea to send additional boots on the ground.

The incident also collected a rapid reprimand of Putin and led to the arrest of at least two officials accused of embezzlement of funds that should have been used to ensure the border with Ukraine, Reuters reported in April.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C), accompanied by the Vice-Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak (L) and the chief of the Federal Road Agency Roman Starovoyt, points to the map while inspecting the site of the under-construction bridge through the Strait of Kerch, which will bind Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, aboard a helicopter, March 18, 2016. (Mikhail Klimentyev / Spoutnik / AFP via Getty Images)

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Some reports have suggested that Starovoyt knew that his time as Minister of Transport should be interrupted soon, although an East2west report also noted that he had left his office without saying goodbye to one of his colleagues.

“According to the source, he guessed his upcoming dismissal, but only discovered this morning,” said the media. “At 9:15 am, the news of the President’s order appeared.”

At 9:35 a.m., Starovoyt apparently ordered his secretary to leave, then locked himself in his office. He then left the building around 10 a.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R), accompanied by the Russian Crimean Chief Sergei Aksyonov (C) and the chief of the Federal Road Agency Roman Starovoyt (L), will inspect the site of the under-construction bridge through the Strait of Kerch, which will connect Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, on the island of Tuzla. (Mikhail Klimentyev / Spoutnik / AFP via Getty Images)

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The Kremlin confirmed that he had been dismissed from the first job before it was revealed that Starovoyt died after his girlfriend, Polina Korneeva, 25, would have found him dead in a rich district outside Moscow.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected the issues about Starovoyt’s termination of his position on loss of confidence, Russian media reported.