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Topics: Russia, Vladimir Putin, World News, Politics
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Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Putin’s former transport minister has been found dead from a 'gunshot wound’ just hours after it was revealed he was fired.
Roman Starovoit was found dead in his car which the Russian authorities have determined was from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The ex-governor of the Kursk region died just hours after it was revealed he was sacked from his transport position by President Vladimir Putin on Monday, Sky News reports.
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The minister was appointed to the position in May last year after a five-year stint as governor of the Kursk region which borders Ukraine.
There was no reason given for his dismissal, adds BBC News, and deputy transport minister Andrei Nikitin of the Novgorod region was revealed to be his replacement shortly after.
Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement that Mr Starovoit's body was found in his car parked in Odintsovo, west of Moscow.
While his death is being investigated by the local authorities, the statement added: "The main version is suicide."
However, it is unclear when Mr Starovoit died as the head of the State Duma Defense Committee, Andrei Kartapolov, told Russian outlet RTVI that the incident took place 'quite a while ago'.
The tragic news comes as Kursk was partly seized by Ukrainian troops in August last year, not long after Mr Starovoit had given up his position as governor.
Moscow only recently pushed Kyiv forces out of the region earlier this year though in June, it said the force still held a small area of territory inside Russia.
Aleksey Smirnov was earmarked to take over the role of governor to the region and was only posted for a short while up until his arrest in April where he was accused of embezzling funds that had been reserved for building defense fortifications on the border with Ukraine.
According to Russian outlet Kommersant, Mr Starovoit was allegedly due to be brought in as a defendant in the case.
When asked about his dismissal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "At present, in the president's opinion, Andrei Nikitin's professional qualities and experience will best contribute to ensuring that this agency, which the president described as extremely important, fulfils its tasks and functions."
When pressed further about whether Putin had lost trust in Mr Starovoit as a result of the occupation of Ukrainian forces in Kursk, Peskov added: "A loss of trust is mentioned if there is a loss of trust. Such wording was not used [in the Kremlin decree]."