In response to the transfer of Igor Kartavykh, executive director of the Kremlin-backed publication Sputnik Azerbaijan, from a pretrial detention center to house arrest, Russia released Mamedali Agayev, the former director of the Satire Theater in Moscow.

It is noted that the relevant negotiations took place at the level of aides to the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan. Yuri Ushakov worked directly with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Hikmet Hajiyev, and the decision was made on the eve of the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe.

Agayev was detained in late August. According to the prosecutor's office, he and his accomplices allegedly stole approximately 20 million rubles using fictitious reports on completed work. His accounts, as well as those of his relatives, were frozen, and a case was opened under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code. The theater's former director faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 1 million rubles.

Mamedali Agayev worked at the Moscow Academic Satire Theater from 1985 to 2021, and headed the institution for the last three decades.