Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit died by suicide on Monday, just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin fired him from the job, officials said.

A top Russian government official who was dismissed Monday by Russian leader Vladimir Putin is dead, with officials calling his death a suicide. Transport Minister Roman Starovoit, who held his post since May of last year,

Russia’s transport minister was found dead Monday in what authorities called a suspected suicide, hours after he was dismissed from his post by President Vladimir Putin. Roman Starovoyt, 53, was found in his car in a suburb west of Moscow with a gunshot wound, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.