Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the release of a detained Russian anthropologist in Afghanistan was secured thanks to Moscow’s “friendly relations” with the Taliban, the only government to formally recognise the group.

Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sviatoslav Kaverin was freed after Russian authorities made a formal request to the Taliban. Kaverin had been arrested in July while travelling in Kunduz province for anthropological research. He was accused of smuggling jewellery and later transferred to Taliban intelligence in Kabul.

Kaverin had gone to Afghanistan to study in Kunar, Nuristan, Kapisa and Nangarhar provinces. After his detention, he was unreachable for weeks, prompting concern from his family and colleagues, who said the jewellery found in his luggage was nothing more than souvenirs and gifts.

Reports in mid-August suggested Kaverin was being held in a Kabul detention centre, though no formal charges were filed. After his release, he said he spent 52 days in custody, during which he was moved several times. To pass the time, he exercised with fellow inmates, sang songs and painted the walls of his cell. He said he was beaten during interrogations, though not severely enough to leave visible marks.

His mother had appealed to Rustam Minnikhanov, president of Tatarstan, during a recent conference in the region attended by Taliban representatives.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti first reported his release on 8 September. The following morning, Kaverin posted a photo of himself at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, writing hours later that he had “finally returned home.”