The murk surrounding the death of Russia’s transport minister – allegedly tied to the theft of border defenses -- has captured the attention of the political elites. For many, it’s not a settled fact that he killed himself.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was shocked by the sudden death of Russia's former transport minister Roman Starovoit, news of which broke hours after President Vladimir Putin had sacked him. Starovoit was found dead in his car outside Moscow with a gunshot wound and the principal hypothesis is that he took his own life,