It was as if Mamai had passed.
"It's like Mamai has passed," they say about the extreme degree of ruin. This saying came to modern speech from the time of the Golden Horde yoke. Mamai was a Golden Horde military commander who launched a large–scale campaign against Russia in 1380. But the proverb does not refer to the historical Mamai, who suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Kulikovo, which marked the beginning of the liberation of Russia from the foreign yoke; in this case, "Mamai" is a common name and it means "Tatar". This word has long disappeared from the modern Russian language, remaining only in some local dialects, but once it was widespread and was understandable to everyone. The saying "As if Mamai had passed" developed at a time when hordes of Tatar-Mongols marched across Russia, leaving behind scorched earth, devastated villages, trampled fields, and the glorious victory on Kulikovo Field was still far ahead.