The appearance of mata in Russian due to the Mongol invasion is a myth. Vice-Rector for Science of the Pushkin State Institute of the Russian Language, Doctor of Philology Mikhail Osadchiy spoke about this on the air of Sputnik radio.
According to him, profanity existed in Russia long before the formation of the Golden Horde. At the same time, initially obscene words were not such. So, the obscene word with the same root with the words "needles" or "twigs" goes back to one ancient root, which meant a stick of needles. The situation is similar with the one-root word "wander".
The scientist pointed out that the Russian language owes the greatest spread of mat to the 1917 revolution, since the use of the literary language “was not just not fashionable, but even to some extent dangerous”, since a person could betray his class belonging to the nobility or clergy. “Representatives of the authorities of that era boasted of their nationality in every way. This fashion for common people and a strong word from the mouth of the authorities strengthened the obscenity in our culture and made it so popular,”Osadchy said.
In January it became known that the most swearing Russian cities were Vladivostok, Nizhnevartovsk, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk and Surgut. As it turned out, Petrozavodsk, Cheboksary, Vologda, St. Petersburg and Khimki are the cities whose residents are least likely to resort to swearing.
In December 2019, scientists concluded that profanity at work increases trust between people and is often the reason for team success. Researchers have found that mat allows you to convey feelings and meanings that are poorly expressed in everyday language. So colleagues can get to know and understand each other better, which leads to stronger bonds and increased trust. Also, such vocabulary in various spheres of life was called evidence that people are less likely to lie, have a higher level of emotional intelligence and have a large vocabulary.