The news alarmed the elite – this is how political analysts reacted to the death of 53-year-old former Russian Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit. His body, with a gunshot wound, was found on July 7 in Odintsovo, Moscow Region. Just a few hours earlier, a decree by Vladimir Putin on the dismissal of Starovoit from the ministerial post appeared on the Russian president's website.
Only a few days ago, Starovoit personally reported to Putin on the development of a network of airports, which was supposed to increase the capacity of the aviation infrastructure in Russia. The way he spoke then was no different from his previous appearances - he seemed confident and calm. And in June, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPEEF), Starovoit spoke enthusiastically about new investment projects, making it clear that he intends to participate in their implementation.
The main version that the investigation in Russia is working on is suicide. It is assumed that the minister may have decided on this step after learning about the criminal case being prepared against him related to the embezzlement of budget funds during the construction of fortifications in the Kursk region. This is reported by some Russian media.
"Rotenberg's man"
Roman Starovoit was born in Kursk, where his father worked at a nuclear power plant. Later, the family moved to Sosnovy Bor, Leningrad Region. Starovoit himself later settled in neighboring St. Petersburg, where he received higher education. In this city, he began working in the construction business, and then moved into the management sphere. In the government of St. Petersburg, he led investment projects. During this period, he collaborated with structures associated with the Rotenberg family, lobbying for their interests.
According to political scientist Abbas Galyamov, it was the support of the Rotenberg family that played an important role in Starovoit's future career. In 2018, Vladimir Putin appointed him interim governor of the Kursk region. After winning the elections, Starovoit officially became the head of the region and remained in this position until 2024. At that time, at the suggestion of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, he moved to the federal government, and his deputy Alexei Smirnov became the governor of the Kursk region.
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Starovoit supervised the construction of fortifications along the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Kursk region worth 19.4 billion rubles. However, later inspections revealed large-scale violations and fraud in the implementation of contracts. High-ranking officials, including Alexei Smirnov, were among those involved. As the newspaper “Kommersant“ reports, shortly before Starovoit's death, some of the accused gave statements, possibly including Smirnov himself, which could help the investigation against the former governor.
How plausible is the suicide version?
After the publication of Putin's decree on Starovoit's resignation, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that the decision was not related to “loss of trust“. However, a number of political analysts linked the resignation to the investigation into the embezzlement of funds during the construction of fortifications in the Kursk region, for the implementation of which Starovoit was previously responsible.
Initially, it was claimed that the former minister shot himself in his own car, but later a video appeared on the Internet showing Starovoit's body being placed on a stretcher on the grass - some distance from his car. Questions are also raised by the confusion with the date of death. A number of publications report that the body was found on July 5. However, a press release from the Ministry of Transport makes it clear that on July 6 Starovoit participated in a meeting in connection with the ammonia leak from a tanker in Ust-Luga.
Political scientist Mikhail Vinogradov believes that such confusion "rather speaks of chaos and mild panic in state structures". He also says that the obituary for the civil servant appeared only on the website of the Ministry of Transport - and then after the news of the appointment of the new minister.
Pro-Kremlin political scientist Sergei Markov spoke of a "shock of the Russian elite". On his Telegram channel, he expressed doubts about the suicide version. According to him, Starovoit was liquidated, and people were behind his murder, against whom he could probably testify after his arrest.
Abbas Galyamov considers the suicide version to be quite likely, which does not prevent many people from accepting the conspiracy theory. “For them, this is a case in which high-ranking corrupt officials eliminated a witness and an accomplice in their crimes”, he says. According to Galyamov, this incident could deal a blow to the reputation of the authorities - especially in the eyes of the administration itself.
"Starovoit's death could awaken the elite's instinct for self-preservation"
He points out that the Rotenbergs could have stood up for Starovoit and saved him from this criminal case. "They either couldn't or didn't want to", says Galyamov, adding that Starovoit himself knew perfectly well that the judicial system was not working effectively due to the degradation of the country's institutions.
Political scientist Ekaterina Shulman believes that Starovoit's mysterious death could awaken the instinct for self-preservation in the elite, who will read it as a warning signal: "Now their main concern will be how to survive in power without being killed or their families suffering - just like it was in 1953," points out Shulman.
Author: Alexey Strelnikov