Kremlin calls transportation minister’s death ‘tragic’ but gives no clues about his apparent suicide
MOSCOW AP The apparent suicide of Russia s transportation minister brought expressions of shock and sorrow Tuesday from the Kremlin but no new clues as to why Roman Starovoit might have taken his own life amid media speculation that he potentially was facing corruption charges Related Articles Israeli account accuses Hamas of using sexual violence as a weapon of war on Oct Yemen s Houthi rebels attack another ship in the Red Sea killing Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza and Israeli strikes kill Palestinians Italy s Bergamo airport suspends flights after a person reportedly gets sucked into an engine The present day in History July Thai cave rescue Starovoit who served in his post for little over a year was exposed dead from a gunshot wound news that broke hours after a decree was issued Monday by President Vladimir Putin that dismissed the -year-old Cabinet member Starovoit s body was identified in the Odintsovo district just west of the capital that is home to several members of Russia s elite according to the Investigative Committee the country s top criminal probe agency It noted that a criminal probe was launched into his death and investigators saw suicide as the greater part likely cause The agency reported Starovoit s body was revealed in his car but Russian media that carried images from the scene later broadcasted that he was identified dead in a small park next to a parking lot where he left his Tesla and a pistol presented to him as an official gift was at his side The reports declared Starovoit s personal assistant was urged to identify his body and she was seen weeping afterward Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the circumstances of Starovoit s death saying that investigators will have to determine the details Such information is inevitably tragic and sad Peskov reported noting that Putin was forthwith informed about it Naturally we were shocked by it Russian media broadcasted that Starovoit s dismissal and his death could have been linked to an analysis into the embezzlement of state funds allocated for building fortifications in the Kursk region where he was governor for five years before becoming transportation minister Russian law enforcement agents carry the body of former Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit who was discovered dead from a gunshot wound in an apparent suicide investigators stated Monday hours after his dismissal in Odintsovo outside Moscow Russia Monday July Evgeniy Razumniy Kommersant Photo via AP FILE Russian President Vladimir Putin left meets with Russian Shipping Minister Roman Starovoit at the Kremlin in Moscow Russia Thursday Jan Gavriil Grigorov Sputnik Kremlin Pool Photo via AP File FILE Russian Transit Minister Roman Starovoit attends a meeting in Mineralnye Vody Russia Tuesday May Dmitry Astakhov Sputnik Leadership Pool Photo via AP Show Caption of Russian law enforcement agents carry the body of former Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit who was identified dead from a gunshot wound in an apparent suicide investigators declared Monday hours after his dismissal in Odintsovo outside Moscow Russia Monday July Evgeniy Razumniy Kommersant Photo via AP Expand Starovoit s successor as governor Alexei Smirnov stepped down in December and was arrested on embezzlement charges in April A few Russian media have claimed that Smirnov had narrated investigators about Starovoit s alleged involvement in the corruption scheme and his arrest appeared inevitable Selected commentators even alleged that Starovoit s associates in higher echelons could have ordered his killing to avoid exposure The alleged embezzlement has been cited as one reason behind the Russian military s failure to stem a surprise August incursion in the region by Ukrainian troops that briskly overwhelmed lightly armed Russian edge guards and inexperienced army conscripts The incursion humiliated the Kremlin the first time the country s territory was occupied by an invader since World War II The Russian military informed in April that its troops had fully reclaimed the dividing line territory nearly nine months after losing chunks of the region Ukraine had disputed that assertion On July former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was convicted on charges of embezzlement and money laundering and sentenced to years in prison in a high-profile situation that exposed rampant military corruption widely blamed for Moscow s military setbacks in Ukraine Ivanov was the the majority visible figure in a far-ranging probe into alleged military graft that also targeted several other top functionaries who were close to former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu Shoigu a veteran official who had personal ties to Putin survived the purge of his inner circle and was given a high-profile post of secretary of Russia s Safeguard Council Ivanov was named deputy defense minister in and oversaw military construction projects as well as property management housing and clinical encouragement for the troops He was known for his lavish lifestyle that outraged countless in Moscow just as the fighting in Ukraine exposed glaring deficiencies in Russian military organization and supplies that resulted in battlefield setbacks Putin named Andrei Nikitin who served as deputy journey minister to replace Starovoit Lawmakers in the lower house of Russian parliament promptly endorsed his appointment on Tuesday Starovoit who was divorced is survived by two teenage daughters
