Main points
- The Russian State Duma has approved Andrei Nikitin as the new Minister of Transport following the death of Roman Starovoit.
- Starovoit was fired due to the collapse at the airports, and was soon found dead near his car; he probably committed suicide
Andrey Nikitin, the new Minister of Transport of Russia / photo by Russian media
In Russia, Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was fired and later found dead. The State Duma approved a new candidate the very next day.
This was reported by Channel 24 , citing Russian media.
What is known about the appointment of the Minister of Transport of Russia
On Tuesday, July 8, the Russian State Duma unanimously approved Andrey Nikitin's candidacy for the post of Minister of Transport at a plenary session. All 408 deputies voted for the appointment of the new head of the Ministry of Transport.
Nikitin's candidacy for the State Duma position was submitted by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on July 7.
Andrey Nikitin became the new Minister of Transport of Russia / photo rosSMI
Note that Andrei Nikitin served as Governor of the Novgorod Region from 2017 to 2025. From February to July of this year , he was Deputy Minister Starovoit.
The reason for the dismissal of the previous Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit was the recent collapse at the airports. The corresponding decree was published on July 7. On the same day, Starovoit was found dead near his own car – the official probably committed suicide.
Russian media reports that Roman Starovoit shot himself with an award weapon that he received in 2023 from the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. His body has already been identified.
One of the reasons for Roman Starovoit's suicide could have been a criminal case. The media writes that the official was suspected of fraud on an especially large scale.
