President Vladimir Putin has removed Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit from his post, just over a year after his appointment. A decree confirming the dismissal was published Monday on the Kremlin’s official website, effective immediately, though no specific reason for the decision was provided.
Speculation suggests that Deputy Transportation Minister Andrei Nikitin is expected to be named as Starovoit’s replacement. Reports indicate that the decision to replace Starovoit was made “several months ago.” Nikitin previously resigned as governor of the Novgorod region in February to take on his current deputy role.
Starovoit, 52, was appointed Transportation Minister in May 2024. Prior to that, he served as governor of the Kursk region from 2018 to 2024. His time as governor has recently come under scrutiny following Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region in August 2023. While Starovoit has not been directly implicated, investigations have led to arrests, including his successor, over alleged corruption in the construction of border fortifications during his gubernatorial tenure. Russian media have highlighted that these defenses, which were breached, cost nearly 15 billion rubles and took almost three years to build.