Putin appoints Andrey Nikitin as acting transport minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Andrey Nikitin as acting transport minister, Report informs via TASS.

He is replacing Roman Starovoit who was relieved of the post on Monday morning. Most recently, Nikitin has served as deputy transport minister since February. Before that, he had been the Novgorod Region governor since 2017.

According to the law, Russian ministers should be endorsed by parliament, so the prime minister will now have to submit Nikitin’s candidacy to the State Duma. If lawmakers give the nod, the president will sign an executive order appointing him minister.

11:14

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Transport Minister Roman Starovoit, according to a presidential decree published on the official legal information website, Report informs via TASS.

"Roman Starovoit is hereby dismissed from the position of Russia’s transport minister," the document reads.

Starovoit was appointed to the post in May 2024. Prior to that, he served as governor of the borderline Kursk Region.