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| Brothers Seen as Good Students and Avid Athletes | Brothers Seen as Good Students and Avid Athletes |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| One was a boxer who liked Russian rap videos and once said, “I don’t have a single American friend.” | One was a boxer who liked Russian rap videos and once said, “I don’t have a single American friend.” |
| The other, an all-star high school wrestler, listed “Islam” as his worldview on a Russian social-media page and was described by a neighbor as a “very photogenic kid” who had “a heart of gold.” | The other, an all-star high school wrestler, listed “Islam” as his worldview on a Russian social-media page and was described by a neighbor as a “very photogenic kid” who had “a heart of gold.” |
| As a picture has begun to emerge of the two brothers, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, who are suspected of carrying out the bombings at the Boston Marathon, it was difficult to distinguish them from millions of other young people who come to the United States to forge a future. The authorities are scrambling to determine how they might have evolved into terrorists who would plant powerful bombs in a crowd of innocent people. | As a picture has begun to emerge of the two brothers, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, who are suspected of carrying out the bombings at the Boston Marathon, it was difficult to distinguish them from millions of other young people who come to the United States to forge a future. The authorities are scrambling to determine how they might have evolved into terrorists who would plant powerful bombs in a crowd of innocent people. |
| The Tsarnaevs are believed to be of Chechen heritage and to have emigrated from Kyrgyzstan or another country in the region with their family to the United States in 2002 after living for some time in Makhachkala, capital of Dagestan in Russia. A government official confirmed that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev became a naturalized American citizen Sept. 11, 2012 and Tamerlan Tsarnaev had a green card. | |
| Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (pronounced Joe-HARR tsar-NAH-yev), the younger, graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in 2011, where he was listed as a Greater Boston League Winter All-Star wrestler. That year, he won a $2,500 scholarship awarded to 35 to 45 promising students by the City of Cambridge. | |
| Mahmoud Abu-Rubieh, 17, a student at the high school, said he had known Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for almost three years as a friend and a wrestling teammate. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, he said, dressed “like any other student at our school,” favoring jeans or khakis, button-ups and T-shirts. | Mahmoud Abu-Rubieh, 17, a student at the high school, said he had known Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for almost three years as a friend and a wrestling teammate. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, he said, dressed “like any other student at our school,” favoring jeans or khakis, button-ups and T-shirts. |
| “I never heard him talk about politics,” Mr. Abu-Rubieh said. “He didn’t really bring up anything like that.” He said the last time he saw Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was about three months ago, when he stopped by wrestling practice. | “I never heard him talk about politics,” Mr. Abu-Rubieh said. “He didn’t really bring up anything like that.” He said the last time he saw Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was about three months ago, when he stopped by wrestling practice. |
| “We exchanged a greeting,” Mr. Abu-Rubieh said. “He said it was nice to see that I continued to wrestle. If I wanted to convey any message it would be that he was a kind student, that many people respected him, he had many friends and was active in our school.” | “We exchanged a greeting,” Mr. Abu-Rubieh said. “He said it was nice to see that I continued to wrestle. If I wanted to convey any message it would be that he was a kind student, that many people respected him, he had many friends and was active in our school.” |
| Ashraful Rahman, 17, a senior at Cambridge Rindge and Latin, said that he and two other friends recognized Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s photo on television on Thursday night and one of them called the F.B.I.'s tip line. | Ashraful Rahman, 17, a senior at Cambridge Rindge and Latin, said that he and two other friends recognized Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s photo on television on Thursday night and one of them called the F.B.I.'s tip line. |
| But he said he could not believe that Dzhokhar, whom he met two years ago, could have been involved in the bombing. | But he said he could not believe that Dzhokhar, whom he met two years ago, could have been involved in the bombing. |
| “He would never come across as someone who would do anything like this, Mr. Rahman said. | “He would never come across as someone who would do anything like this, Mr. Rahman said. |
| He and Dzhokhar have much in common, he said. Both were wrestlers, both enjoyed boxing and were both Muslim. They would occasionally meet at the mosque in Cambridge, a few blocks away from their school, he said. | He and Dzhokhar have much in common, he said. Both were wrestlers, both enjoyed boxing and were both Muslim. They would occasionally meet at the mosque in Cambridge, a few blocks away from their school, he said. |
| Dzhokhar’s closest friends were a group known among their classmates as “stoners,” according to Mr. Rahman. He described Dzhokhar as “laid back” and said that he had assumed he was born in the United States because he did not speak with an accent. | Dzhokhar’s closest friends were a group known among their classmates as “stoners,” according to Mr. Rahman. He described Dzhokhar as “laid back” and said that he had assumed he was born in the United States because he did not speak with an accent. |
| Mr. Rahman said he last saw Dzhokhar last August, near the end of Ramadan, during prayers at the mosque. | Mr. Rahman said he last saw Dzhokhar last August, near the end of Ramadan, during prayers at the mosque. |
| “Regardless of whether you knew him as well as I did, as someone who wrestled with him, hung out and chilled with him or whether you were people who saw him the hallway, he was always the same — a generally nice guy,” Mr. Rahman said, adding that he was a hard-working student and an even harder working wrestler. | “Regardless of whether you knew him as well as I did, as someone who wrestled with him, hung out and chilled with him or whether you were people who saw him the hallway, he was always the same — a generally nice guy,” Mr. Rahman said, adding that he was a hard-working student and an even harder working wrestler. |
| When he was not wrestling, Mr. Rahman said, Dzhokhar “was not some testosterone ridden jock or anything like that, just a cool guy.” | When he was not wrestling, Mr. Rahman said, Dzhokhar “was not some testosterone ridden jock or anything like that, just a cool guy.” |
| Tamerlan Tsarnaev (pronounced tam-arr-lann tsar-NAH-yev), who died after a shootout with law enforcement officers early Friday morning, was apparently studying engineering at Bunker Hill Community College when a photographer, Johannes Hirn, chose a young boxer as the subject of an essay for a photojournalism class at Boston University four or five years ago. | Tamerlan Tsarnaev (pronounced tam-arr-lann tsar-NAH-yev), who died after a shootout with law enforcement officers early Friday morning, was apparently studying engineering at Bunker Hill Community College when a photographer, Johannes Hirn, chose a young boxer as the subject of an essay for a photojournalism class at Boston University four or five years ago. |
| In the essay, the subject, believed to be Tamerlan Tsarnaev, is quoted as saying he had become devoutly religious, having abandoned smoking and drinking. He sounded alienated from Russia, saying that he would not want to box on the Russian team unless Chechnya achieved independence. The essay was later published in a university magazine, The Comment, according to Peter Southwick, director of the photojournalism program, who taught the class. | In the essay, the subject, believed to be Tamerlan Tsarnaev, is quoted as saying he had become devoutly religious, having abandoned smoking and drinking. He sounded alienated from Russia, saying that he would not want to box on the Russian team unless Chechnya achieved independence. The essay was later published in a university magazine, The Comment, according to Peter Southwick, director of the photojournalism program, who taught the class. |
| “There are no values anymore,” Mr. Hirn quotes him as saying. “People can’t control themselves.” | “There are no values anymore,” Mr. Hirn quotes him as saying. “People can’t control themselves.” |
| Tamerlan confessed a love for the movie “Borat” in the essay, and showed off his pointed shoes — “I"m dressed European style,” Mr. Hirn quotes him as saying. | Tamerlan confessed a love for the movie “Borat” in the essay, and showed off his pointed shoes — “I"m dressed European style,” Mr. Hirn quotes him as saying. |
| In the caption of one photo, showing his muscled upper body, he says that he does not usually take his shirt off in front of women. “I’m very religious,” he says. | In the caption of one photo, showing his muscled upper body, he says that he does not usually take his shirt off in front of women. “I’m very religious,” he says. |
| The brothers lived on the third floor of a brown wood-frame triple-decker on Norfolk Street in Cambridge, a multicultural neighborhood not far from Inman Square, a pleasant shopping area, where hardware stores and butcher shops mix with cafes and Brazilian and Portuguese restaurants. Neighbors said people were constantly coming and going at the apartment and they were uncertain who lived there and who was just visiting. Sometimes they saw people from the unit gathering on the front lawn, the neighbors said, recalling one man in particular who was fond of doing pull-ups on the trellis out front. | The brothers lived on the third floor of a brown wood-frame triple-decker on Norfolk Street in Cambridge, a multicultural neighborhood not far from Inman Square, a pleasant shopping area, where hardware stores and butcher shops mix with cafes and Brazilian and Portuguese restaurants. Neighbors said people were constantly coming and going at the apartment and they were uncertain who lived there and who was just visiting. Sometimes they saw people from the unit gathering on the front lawn, the neighbors said, recalling one man in particular who was fond of doing pull-ups on the trellis out front. |
| Matt Stuber, who lives in an adjoining building, said he occasionally saw Dzhokhar Tsarnaev driving a green Honda Civic. Other neighbors described Dzhokhar as “quiet” and said he sometimes did not return greetings on the street. | |
| He did become friendly with Larry Aaronson, a retired social studies teacher who lived a few houses from the Tsarnaev family on Norfolk Street. | |
| Mr. Aaronson said he saw often around the neighborhood but had not seen recently. He believed that Dzhokhar might have gone off to college, Mr. Aaronson said. | Mr. Aaronson said he saw often around the neighborhood but had not seen recently. He believed that Dzhokhar might have gone off to college, Mr. Aaronson said. |
| “He was gracious,” he said of the younger Tsarnaev brother. “He told me he was from Chechnya, and I asked him what that was like, and he never expressed any bitterness toward Russia or his situation.” | “He was gracious,” he said of the younger Tsarnaev brother. “He told me he was from Chechnya, and I asked him what that was like, and he never expressed any bitterness toward Russia or his situation.” |
| He added, “This comes as a total shock.” | He added, “This comes as a total shock.” |
| Both young men had a substantial presence on social media. On Vkontakte, Russia’s most popular social media platform, the younger of them, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, describes his worldview as “Islam” and, asked to identify “the main thing in life,” answers “career and money.” He lists a series of affinity groups relating to Chechnya, where two wars of independence against Russia were fought after the Soviet Union collapsed, and lists a verse from the Koran, “Do good, because Allah loves those who do good.” | Both young men had a substantial presence on social media. On Vkontakte, Russia’s most popular social media platform, the younger of them, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, describes his worldview as “Islam” and, asked to identify “the main thing in life,” answers “career and money.” He lists a series of affinity groups relating to Chechnya, where two wars of independence against Russia were fought after the Soviet Union collapsed, and lists a verse from the Koran, “Do good, because Allah loves those who do good.” |
| In a telephone interview, Ruslan Tsarni, 42, one of the brothers’ three uncles, said that Tamerlan Tsarnaev had called another uncle, Mr. Tsarni’s older brother, the night before he was shot and killed. | |
| “He said to my brother the usual rubbish, talking about God again, that whatever wrong he had done on his behalf, he would like to be forgiven,” said Mr. Tsarni, who lives in Montgomery Village, Md., outside of Washington. “I guess he knew what he had done.” | “He said to my brother the usual rubbish, talking about God again, that whatever wrong he had done on his behalf, he would like to be forgiven,” said Mr. Tsarni, who lives in Montgomery Village, Md., outside of Washington. “I guess he knew what he had done.” |
| He added, “The boys call themselves Muslims but they are not. These are bastards, monsters and hypocrites falsely using the name of God. They never followed a good code of behavior or morals to be Muslims.” | He added, “The boys call themselves Muslims but they are not. These are bastards, monsters and hypocrites falsely using the name of God. They never followed a good code of behavior or morals to be Muslims.” |
| Mr. Tsarni said that his middle brother, the father of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar, had moved back to Dagestan about a year ago with his wife. | Mr. Tsarni said that his middle brother, the father of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar, had moved back to Dagestan about a year ago with his wife. |
| Tamerlan, he said, seemed to control his younger brother. | Tamerlan, he said, seemed to control his younger brother. |
| “He could manipulate him,” Mr. Tsarni said. | “He could manipulate him,” Mr. Tsarni said. |
| At a news conference at his home outside Washington earlier on Friday, Mr. Tsarni said that his nephews had difficulty adjusting to the United States and that he thought their actions came from “not being able to settle themselves and hating everyone who did.” | At a news conference at his home outside Washington earlier on Friday, Mr. Tsarni said that his nephews had difficulty adjusting to the United States and that he thought their actions came from “not being able to settle themselves and hating everyone who did.” |
| But he said he had not seen his nephews since December 2005, and he implied that some rift had occurred between the two families. | But he said he had not seen his nephews since December 2005, and he implied that some rift had occurred between the two families. |
| “My family has nothing to do with that family, he said. “I just want my family to be away from them.” | “My family has nothing to do with that family, he said. “I just want my family to be away from them.” |
| Mr. Tsarni said that the two brothers may have been radicalized but if so, it was not their father who was responsible. The father, he said, had recently moved back to Russia but had been working “fixing cars” in the United States. | Mr. Tsarni said that the two brothers may have been radicalized but if so, it was not their father who was responsible. The father, he said, had recently moved back to Russia but had been working “fixing cars” in the United States. |
| “I never ever imagine that children of my brother would be associated with that,” he said. | “I never ever imagine that children of my brother would be associated with that,” he said. |
| He added: “I say, Dzhokhar, if you are alive, turn yourself in and ask for forgiveness.” | He added: “I say, Dzhokhar, if you are alive, turn yourself in and ask for forgiveness.” |
| The family is part of a Chechen diaspora that dates back to 1943, when Stalin deported most of the population of Chechnya from its homeland and over concerns the Chechens were collaborating with the Nazi German invading army. Most returned to Chechnya in the 1950s, after the death of Stalin and lifting of the deportation order, but some stayed. Kyrgyzstan’s Chechen diaspora is concentrated in a steppe region on the Kazakh border, near the town of Talas. | |
| The deportation was a searing, and in some cases, radicalizing experience. Among the former diaspora in Kyrgyzstan was the first rebel president of Chechnya in the post-Soviet period, Dzhokhar Dudayev, who hailed from the Kyrgyz diaspora villages, said Edil Baisalov, a former presidential chief of staff in Kyrgyzstan. | The deportation was a searing, and in some cases, radicalizing experience. Among the former diaspora in Kyrgyzstan was the first rebel president of Chechnya in the post-Soviet period, Dzhokhar Dudayev, who hailed from the Kyrgyz diaspora villages, said Edil Baisalov, a former presidential chief of staff in Kyrgyzstan. |
| Irina V. Bandurina, secretary to the director of School No. 1 in Makhachkala, Russia, said the Tsarnaev family left Dagestan for the United States in 2002 after living there for about a year. She said the family — parents, two boys and two girls — had lived in Kyrgyzstan previously. | Irina V. Bandurina, secretary to the director of School No. 1 in Makhachkala, Russia, said the Tsarnaev family left Dagestan for the United States in 2002 after living there for about a year. She said the family — parents, two boys and two girls — had lived in Kyrgyzstan previously. |
| She said Dzhokhar, the younger boy, attended School No. 1 in the first grade, and Tamerlan attended school in Makhachkala through the eighth grade. She said she did not know them personally. | She said Dzhokhar, the younger boy, attended School No. 1 in the first grade, and Tamerlan attended school in Makhachkala through the eighth grade. She said she did not know them personally. |
| Although the Tsarnaev family is believed to have come to the United States in 2002, they were in Turkey on July 9, 2003, according to Muammer Güler, the Turkish Interior Minister, and left the country 10 days later from the capital, Ankara. There was no information on the family’s next destination after Turkey, the minister said. | Although the Tsarnaev family is believed to have come to the United States in 2002, they were in Turkey on July 9, 2003, according to Muammer Güler, the Turkish Interior Minister, and left the country 10 days later from the capital, Ankara. There was no information on the family’s next destination after Turkey, the minister said. |
| Adnan Z. Dzarbrailov, the head of a Chechen diaspora group in Kyrgyzstan, said in a telephone interview that the Tsarnaev family lived near a sugar factory in the small town of Tokmok, about 70 kilometers, or 40 miles, from the Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The last member of the family left years ago, he said. He described them as “intelligentsia” and said an aunt of the accused bombers was a lawyer. | |
| Sultan Tsarnaev, a grandfather of the brothers, died in an accident in Tokmok in the 1980, when a propane tank he was carrying exploded, according to Mr. Dzarbrailov and Uzbek Aliyev, a Chechen living in Tokmok. Their uncle, Anwar Tsarnaev, studied at a university in Bishkek with Mr. Aliyev. | Sultan Tsarnaev, a grandfather of the brothers, died in an accident in Tokmok in the 1980, when a propane tank he was carrying exploded, according to Mr. Dzarbrailov and Uzbek Aliyev, a Chechen living in Tokmok. Their uncle, Anwar Tsarnaev, studied at a university in Bishkek with Mr. Aliyev. |
| “They were good students, they were good people,” he said of the uncle and aunt of the accused bombers. Both brothers eventually emigrated from Kyrgyzstan, he said. | “They were good students, they were good people,” he said of the uncle and aunt of the accused bombers. Both brothers eventually emigrated from Kyrgyzstan, he said. |
Reporting was contributed by Ellen Barry from Moscow; Andrew Kramer in Yekaterinburg, Russia; Serge F. Kovaleski and Katharine Q. Seelye from Boston; John Eligon, Adam B. Ellick, Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Dina Kraft from Cambridge, Mass.; Abby Goodnough from Washington; Julia Preston from New Haven, Conn.; and Emily S. Rueb and from New York. | Reporting was contributed by Ellen Barry from Moscow; Andrew Kramer in Yekaterinburg, Russia; Serge F. Kovaleski and Katharine Q. Seelye from Boston; John Eligon, Adam B. Ellick, Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Dina Kraft from Cambridge, Mass.; Abby Goodnough from Washington; Julia Preston from New Haven, Conn.; and Emily S. Rueb and from New York. |