Russia Promised to Assist US Even Before Discovering Bombings' Chechen Connection

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his country’s help with the investigation into Monday’s attack in Boston even before Friday’s revelation that the two suspects are Chechen.

News reports said the two suspects are brothers of Chechen origin, but have lived in the United States for several years after immigrating legally. The news comes at a time of high tensions between the United States and Russia, which is reeling from the Obama administration’s decision to publicly blacklist 18 Russian officials last week and continues to support President Bashar Assad in Syria.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, who was killed in a firefight with police, is believed to have been born in Russia near Chechnya. His brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is still on the run and was born in Kyrgyzstan, much farther to the east near the border with China.

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