The apparent suicide of Russia’s transportation minister brought expressions of shock and sorrow from the Kremlin but no new clues as to why Roman Starovoit might have taken his own life amid media speculation he potentially was facing corruption charges.

Russian lawmakers approved a new transport minister, one day after the body of his predecessor was found with a gunshot wound hours after being sacked by President Vladimir Putin.

Russia's Investigative Committee, the top criminal investigation agency, said Mr Starovoit's body was discovered in his vehicle parked in Odintsovo, a neighbourhood west of Moscow where members of the country's elite live.