Bolshoi Ballet of censorship. It was the first time a show has been pulled in such a way since the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking rumours about the motivation behind it. Today the Bolshoi Ballet remains one of the world's foremost ballet companies, in addition to being one of the largest, with approximately 220 dancers. The word "bolshoi" means "big" or "grand" in Russian. The company operates on a hierarchical system, similar to those used by other leading European ballet companies, with senior dancers ranked as principals, and descending in order of importance through lead soloist, first soloist, soloist and finally,
Mat (Russian profanity) Mat (Russian profanity) Mat (, "matershchina" / "materny yazyk" / "matny yazyk") is the term for vulgar, obscene, or profane language in Russian and some other Slavic language communities. The term "mat" derives from the Russian word for mother, a component of the key phrase "Ёб твою мать", yob tvoyu mat’ (fuck your mother). "Mat" has thousands of variations but ultimately centers on four pillars, the words "khuy" ("cock"); "pizda" ("cunt"); "yebat’" ("to fuck"); and "blyad"' ("whore"). "Khuy" () means cock, penis, or for an equivalent colloquial register: dick. The etymology of the term is unclear. Mainstream theories include from