Russian Civil War: NRA DVR & old maids

[Maryna Vinarska]

I hope this time it will really be Windows 1251. If not, try Unicode. It's from Yandex. Here is the link once again: http://enc.yandex.ru/?ref=universal
Большая советская энциклопедия   Приморская операция 1922,
 боевые действия Народно-революционной армии (НРА) Дальневосточной республики во взаимодействии с партизанами 4-25 октября против белогвардейскиÑ
 войск в Приморье, ликвидировавшие последний очаг Гражданской войны 1918-20 в России. 1 сентября 1922 ставленник японскиÑ
 интервентов генерал М. К. ДитериÑ
с предпринял попытку наступления с Ю. на Хабаровск.Энциклопедический словарь «История Отечества с древнейшиÑ
 времен до нашиÑ
 дней»   Дальневосточная Республика (ДВР)
 6 апреля 1920—15 ноября 1922, “буферное” государственное образование на Дальнем Востоке, создана по инициативе руководства РСФСР на заключительном этапе Гражданской войны. Включала территорию Забайкальской, Амурской и Приморской областей. Столица — ВерÑ
неудинск (Улан-Удэ), с октября 1920 Чита. После поражения белогвардейскиÑ
 и японскиÑ
 войск территория ДВР вошла в состав РСФСР.

As to "devitsa", it is normally used  in ironical context nowadays, and often implies smth more or less negative, kind of "S etoi devitsei prosto nevozmozhno spravitsia" when informing smb about your female student who doesn't behave properly in class. And this your student may be from 7 to 25 years old. 
"Devchionka"... it is more typical of the teenagers' language: "Hey, devchionki, vy gde?" "Klassnaia devchionka", etc. However, if it is a company of ex-classmates in their 30ies, 40ies or maybe even 50ies, who have met to say hello to each other and to drink pretty much of champagne in some newly opened restaurant, male persons will also call their female ex-classmates  "devchionki"... But it is a particular case.
As to "staraia deva"... it will probably disappear from the real life Russian at all... "Sinii chulok" is much more common, I would say, if someone wants to emphasize those characteristics which this word combination, "staraia deva", should, theoretically, imply.
Regards,
Maryna Vinarska

"atacama at global.co.za" <atacama at GLOBAL.CO.ZA> wrote: Dear Seelangers,

With reference to the Rusian Civil War in 1920s in the Far East/Mongolia,
what would these Russian initials stand for in Russian text:

NRA = ? National Revolutionary Army ?
DVR = Far East Republic (that's easy)

re: manservant = person/human/chelovek
nowadays a waitress seems to be "maiden" (devushka).
What happened to "devitza" and "devche:nka" ? (only joking).
"Staraya Deva" we know, they are sent off to nunneries.

Thanks

Vera Beljakova

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