Another person who found themselves in Vladimir Putin’s bad books has been found dead. Roman Starovoit, who was fired by the Kremlin, was reported dead by suicide. Shocking new claims about the former transport minister’s death have now surfaced.
Roman Starovoit was fired from his post as the transport minister on July 7. The 53-year-old was found dead in a Tesla a few hours later. Reports revealed that the former minister allegedly shot himself in the car.
An independent Russian media outlet, on the other hand, claims that Starovoit’s death might not have been a suicide. SOTA claims that there were signs that his death could be a homicide.
“Fresh traces of beatings were found on the body of former Kursk governor and ex-Transport Minister Roman Starovoit,” SOTA reported. A source who saw the former minister’s body in the morgue revealed this to the outlet. The source also claims that the medical reports indicate that the Starovoit died “earlier than officially announced.”
The source told SOTA that the death occurred approximately 24 hours before the announced time. The speculation around the former minister’s death kept increasing after official sources gave different details about it.
A report claiming that Starovoit had committed suicide in his house initially emerged. Russian cops revealed that he was found dead in his car. The Russian Investigative Committee later claimed that the body had in fact been found in a Tesla Model X P100D.
🚨 #BREAKINGNEWS Russia’s former Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit death is being investigated as a suicide after authorities found 3 bullets in his head. Starovoit was fired by Vladimir Putin just hours before. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/KAU7cMFN1B
— Ford News (@FordJohnathan5) July 7, 2025
Other Russian media accounts claimed that Starovoit’s corpse was found in the village of Romashkovo in the Odintsovo district. The reports claimed that Staravoit was found dead in a bush with his car parked near the site, as per The Sun.
A few outlets even released photos of a corpse being lifted from the grass at the site. Polina Korneeva, Staravoit’s girlfriend and assistant, was photographed at the site as well. The 25-year-old was called in by the authorities to identify the body.
Notably, Andrey Korneichuk also suddenly passed away on the same day as Roman Starovoit. The deputy head of the Russian Federal Road Agency’s Property Management Department was found dead in his office in Moscow.
Popcorn anyone? 🍿
7/07/25–
In Ministry of Transport Moscow, 42-year-old Andrei Korneichuk just dropped dead. He held a position related to the land fund.Comes after ruZZian Transport Minister Starovoit, sacked this morning, ‘shot himself’ in Odintsovo. pic.twitter.com/n1xGl3uru0
— Claretta Nijhuis (@NijhuisClaretta) July 7, 2025
Reports revealed that the 42-year-old met his demise after suddenly collapsing to the ground. Korneichuk was pronounced dead on the scene. He is said to have potentially passed away from an “acute heart failure.”
Interestingly, Starovoit isn’t the only official who has met a rather mysterious end in recent times. A report from The Guardian last year noted how several of the Kremlin’s critics and foes “have often met with violent deaths at the very peak of their conflicts.”
