A memorial service for Roman Starovoit, the former Minister of Transportation, took place in St. Petersburg on Friday, just days after his apparent suicide outside Moscow, which followed his unexpected dismissal by President Vladimir Putin.
The ceremony was attended by Leningrad region Governor Alexander Drozdenko and other federal and regional officials who had collaborated with Starovoit throughout his career, as reported by the local news source Fontanka.
Footage shared by the Kommersant business newspaper depicted a small gathering at Smolensky Cemetery on Vasilyevsky Island, where a hearse, accompanied by four pallbearers, awaited to transport the former minister to his final resting place.
According to Fontanka, Starovoit was interred near the Chapel of St. Ksenia, a section of the historic cemetery designated for notable cultural and political figures.
Starovoit was born in Kursk 53 years ago and spent a significant portion of his youth in the Leningrad region.
His funeral occurred the day after a memorial service held in Moscow, which several high-ranking officials from the Kremlin attended. Although Putin was not present, he sent a floral tribute, as noted by the Kremlin.
Starovoit was discovered deceased from a gunshot wound near a parking area outside Moscow on Monday, mere hours after President Putin dismissed him without providing any reasons. Authorities are treating the incident as a suspected suicide.
Reports indicate that Starovoit left a brief farewell message in a work chat for the Transportation Ministry prior to his death, stating, “It was an honor,” according to Kommersant, which cited an unnamed deputy of the former minister.
Notably, Starovoit had been removed from his position a little over a year after being appointed Minister of Transportation. Prior to this role, he was the governor of the Kursk region from 2018 until May 2024.
His dismissal and subsequent passing have sparked speculation regarding the possibility of impending criminal charges connected to an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption surrounding the construction of border defenses in the Kursk region, which faced significant Ukrainian incursions last August.
While he had not been officially tied to the investigation, Russian media reported that unnamed sources indicated that suspects in the case, including his predecessor in the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, had recently provided testimony against him.
