MOSCOW, April 29 (RAPSI) - "Misha," a mysterious US-based Islamist who has been accused of having radicalized deceased Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev by the Tsarnaev family, claims that he was not his teacher, Christian Caryl wrote in his blog in the New York Review of Books on April 28.

Two blasts occurred on April 15 at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, America's most prestigious 26.2-mile race boasting such stringent entry requirements that only the best of the best are entitled to compete.

Three people have been confirmed dead, including an eight-year-old boy present to cheer on his father. More than 180 people were reported as injured.

Brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, aged 19 and 26 respectively, are suspected of having detonated two bombs made from pressure cookers at the Boston Marathon. Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police the following Friday. Dzhokhar was captured several hours later after a manhunt that shut down much of Boston and the surrounding areas.

The Tsarnaev family was cited by various media sources as having claimed that Tamerlan was seriously influenced by a man named "Misha," who allegedly pushed him toward radical Islam.

Сaryl has met with the mysterious "Misha," who turned out to be Mikhail Allakhverdov, 39, of Armenian-Ukrainian descent, who lives with his elderly parents in a modest, tidy apartment in a lower-middle class neighborhood in Rhode Island. He confirmed that he was a convert to Islam and that he had known Tamerlan, but he flatly denied any role in the bombings.

"I wasn't his teacher. If I had been his teacher, I would have made sure that he never did anything like this," Allakhverdov said.

Allakhverdov said he knew Tamerlan in Boston, where he lived until about three years ago, and that he has not had any contact with him since. He declined to describe the nature of his acquaintance with Tamerlan or the Tsarnaev family. He also confirmed that he had been interviewed by the FBI and that he has cooperated with the investigation.

"I've been cooperating entirely with the FBI. I gave them my computer and my phone and everything. I wanted to show I haven’t done anything," he said. He added that they promised to return his things to him and said that "they are about to close my case."

An FBI spokesperson in Boston declined to comment as the case is still underway.