In my experience, some of the abbreviations often seen in ROCOR vigils are:
* not repeating the vespers stikhera at
Lord, I have cried and the Apostikha where normally indicated, unless the total number of verses sung/chanted come to fewer than four.
* where more than two canons are appointed at Matins (such as at a Saturday night vigil, or a weekday feast of lower rank, which would normally include a resurrectional canon (Saturday night) from the Okhtoikh, one or two canons to the Mother of God, and one or two canons to the saint or feast), two or three troparia might be sung from the appointed canons for the Resurrection and the Mother of God, and most or all of the canon(s) to the saint or feast. In these cases, the festal irmos only is sung.
* Katavasiy are only sung at the end of odes 3, 6, 8 and 9.
* Repeated verses at the Praises are often only sung once, unless the abbreviation would reduce them to fewer than four (as for Vespers).
Hope this helps.
