Media: AFU Successes In Kursk Region Led To The Death Of Russian Minister Starovoit
- 9.07.2025, 8:39
A high-ranking official could have become a bargaining chip in the game of Russian elites.
A protégé of the Rottenberg brothers, who are influential in Russia and close to dictator Vladimir Putin, Roman Starovoit has long had a successful career thanks to their patrons. Before getting into the government he was tested by another position - governor of Kursk region. He was in that position when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and then was transferred to the government. This was written about for "Meduza" by Ilya Shumanov, an expert Ilya Shumanov in opposition to the Russian government.
As governor, Starovoit was responsible for the construction of military fortifications in Kursk region - the lines of the so-called "dragon's teeth." Although he then moved on to the post of Minister of Transportation, many people close to him remained in the Kursk region. In particular, he was in close contact with his successor Smirnov and the director of the company "Kursk Region Development Corporation" Vladimir Lukin, which was responsible for the construction of fortifications.
"De facto it is a shadow trough, a commercial organization to cover up shady schemes of withdrawing budget funds, non-transparent distribution of land plots, lobbying and support for friendly projects," Shumanov wrote.
But after the AFU's breakthrough into the Kursk region, it became clear that the "dragon's teeth" were unable to hold back the Ukrainian offensive. Shumanov writes that the Russian military, siloviki and officials began to shift responsibility for this onto each other. And in the end, the siloviki made the military and civilian administration to blame. Among other things, they arrested people close to Starovoit, Smirnov and Lukin testified against him.
He writes that Starovoit was not the last in the corruption chain of embezzlement of the Russian budget. It is possible that after his arrest, he would have testified about his patrons, talked about his interaction with the Rotenbergs or other federal players.
"Such a level of risk could potentially cause a murder with a staged suicide. The story of Starovoit's death is similar to the death stories of top managers of Russian private and state-owned oil and gas companies. The circumstances of these deaths are full of mystery. We see some suspicious nuances or details in these deaths: people fall out of windows while in their right mind. Sober, mentally stable people suddenly take up arms, or their heart suddenly stops and they die in their offices. Moreover, this is a series, not one single story," he writes.
Shumanov notes that such versions can be built only at the level of conspiracy, and does not rule out that Starovoit really committed suicide for personal reasons. But in such a case, he also writes, reliable evidence is needed, which is not and will not be available, as in the case of mysterious deaths of top managers of Russian oil and gas companies.