The death of a Russian Cabinet minister in a field near his posh home in a Moscow suburb has fueled wild speculation about how he died and what it means.

Among the unanswered questions: Did Roman Starovoit really kill himself in his car, as authorities said, or did he take his life in a nearby park? Was he facing a criminal investigation into large-scale corruption? And does his death signal a new, harsher environment for Kremlin elites related to the war in Ukraine?

Russian media was abuzz with claims that Starovoit, who was found dead hours after being fired Monday by President Vladimir Putin, had faced potential corruption charges linked to his previous job as governor of the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces staged a surprise incursion last year. His death drew quick comparisons to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s purges in which some top Kremlin officials killed themselves rather than risk arrest.

Starovoit’s former deputy, who succeeded him as Kursk governor, was arrested in April on charges of embezzling state money.

— The Associated Press