During his interrogation in court, former Kursk Region Governor Smirnov testified about tens of millions of rubles in kickbacks received by the former head of the region and Minister of Transport, Roman Starovoit.

 

Smirnov explained that he met the contractors for the construction of fortifications, Dedov and Lukin, in the early 2000s, and Shubin in the late 1990s.

 

Smirnov stated that he received large kickbacks from them, of which he gave Starovoit approximately 100 million rubles and kept approximately 30 million rubles for himself.

 

The money was received from the construction of fortifications and facilities from 2022 to 2024.

 

Smirnov gave similar testimony during the investigation when Starovoit was alive.

 

All of this coincides with the results of the investigation into the circumstances of Starovoit's suicide, published in February by the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info. Let's quote:

 

"When Starovoit received the coveted ministerial post in May, he found himself in the thick of the battles between clans close to Putin. Already in February 2025, Andrei Nikitin was appointed his deputy – 100% a man of Mikhail Kovalchuk, the man closest to Putin. And no one hid the fact that Nikitin was brought into the Ministry of Transport with an eye on the ministerial seat.

 

Already in April 2025, Smirnov (a friend of Starovoit's, who replaced him as governor) was arrested in a case of embezzlement during the construction of fortifications. Starovoit was well aware that this entire affair was aimed at him personally. Initially, Smirnov denied guilt, but in June 2025, he filed a motion for a pre-trial settlement (officially concluded on August 5). It was clear that Smirnov was testifying specifically against Starovoit. The latter, according to a source, He constantly appealed to his handlers, but they reassured him that the situation was under control, and that Starovoit himself was in Putin's good standing, who would trust him.

When the resignation occurred, Starovoit apparently took it as a sign that Putin's trust had ended, and that the next step would be arrest. He didn't wait for it, especially since he truly considered himself innocent of any embezzlement (if any) during the construction of the fortifications.

 

Incidentally, it was Nikitin who filled the vacant ministerial seat.