In early 2011, the Russian FSB intelligence security service contacted the FBI to warn them that Tamerlan had “changed drastically” and was getting ready to leave the United States to join “underground groups.” The FBI interviewed Tamerlan but found no reason for concern. Evidently, they were incorrect.

 

The Last Mile

Over the course of a few years, Tamerlan’s athletic hopes had been dampened, his father had moved away, his friend was murdered, and his religious fervor increased. There are also some reports that he had separated from his wife, who, with their child, moved back in with her parents. In January 2012, Tamerlan left on a six-month trip to Chechnya and Dagestonia. While there, he saw his father and some speculate he could have also been in contact with militant groups in the North Caucasus region. When he returned in July, his beliefs had only intensified.

Tamerlan returned to America to find his family’s reputation wounded. In June, his mother, Zubeidat, was arrested and charged with damage and defacement to property after she allegedly stole about $1,600 worth of merchandise from a Lord & Taylor in Natick, Mass. A few months later, Jahar took the oath to become a U.S. citizen, ironically on September 11. Tamerlan’s application, however, had not yet been approved, possibly because of the previous warning from Russian intelligence or because of his arrest for assault. It was all heading downhill, fast.

About three months ago, Tamerlan was attending a Friday prayer service at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center. During a sermon that focused on the positive example of civil rights leader and non-violence advocate Martin Luther King, Jr., Tamerlan is said to have stood up, shouting that King should not be mentioned because he was not Muslim. He was kicked out of the service.

While there is little question that Tamerlan had become increasingly disturbed and was likely motivated by extremist religious ideology, the same cannot be said for Dzhokhar. What is clear, however, is that he looked up to his older brother. Tamerlan was a star boxer, and Dzhokhar’s friends said they thought he became a wrestler to emulate his older brother.

A professor of Islamic history at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth said Dzhokhar reached out to him in 2011 regarding a paper he had written for a high school class. The paper focused on Chechnya, and the professor said of Dzhokhar, “He was sort of rediscovering his identity.” This interest came at a time when he was emerging from adolescence but also as his brother became increasingly religious and planned to take a long trip to their homeland.

Earlier this month, when an old friend bumped into Dzhokhar, he found the younger brother was (like Tamerlan) becoming more religious: “He didn’t care about school anymore, he was more focused on religion…His attitude was, it doesn’t matter if you are an engineer or whatever, it’s all about doing right, and life was full of cheating. He wasn’t the same at all.”

With this background, consider the FBI video of the brothers walking through the crowd at the Boston Marathon. Tamerlan wore sunglasses with his hands dug in his coat pockets. Behind him walked Dzhokhar, hands clasped in front of him, hat turned backward, backpack slung over one shoulder. They have a confident walk, but the look on Dzhokhar’s face, the swagger in his step, suggests he feels “cool.” Is he thinking about God? Or is he thinking about how good he feels to be an adult, doing something dangerous with his big brother, winning his approval and admiration as a result?

When Dzhokhar can respond to investigators, he will be charged as a criminal and a terrorist. He will have to answer for the death and suffering he caused. His life, like his actions, is a tragedy. He followed his brother in all things, but now he will face the ramifications alone.