Platform Update — May 2026: Editorial Layer, Guides, Stories, and the Burial Archive

Updated 13 May 2026 — originally published 18 April 2026 with pre-Victory-Day announcements; rewritten to reflect what is actually live now.

The platform changed substantially in the weeks around Victory Day 2026. Some additions were planned ahead of the commemoration; others — the personal stories section, the partner page, and the editorial integrity audit — were prompted by what real activity in the community surfaced. This update describes only what is live and verifiable today.

What is new since April

Guides

A dedicated /guide section with practical how-tos:

• How to add your veteran in 5 minutes
• Printing a memorial card
• Printing a portrait for the march
• Taking part on 9 May — London ceremony and virtual march
• Joining the Victory Day auto-rally
• Researching Soviet war graves in Britain
• Researching your own family history
• A full overview of how to use moypolk.uk
• Soviet War Memorial, London — a guide

Personal stories

A new /stories section for first-person family accounts of the war years. Opened with Lidiya''s story — a child-of-war recollection.

Awareness materials

Short, focused pieces on the wider context, at /articles. Currently includes a reflection on 81 years since Victory in Europe and a feature on inventions whose development was driven by the Second World War.

About the project — bilingual

A full project manifesto, published in parallel languages: /about in English, /o-proekte in Russian. Explains who runs moypolk.uk, what the platform is for, and what it is not.

Partner pages

A dedicated space for organisations we work alongside. The first is RuCentre — the community of remembrance, culture, and unity that coordinates the 2026 auto-rally and related work.

Editorial integrity layer

Every published article now carries a five-tier source-confidence grade and an editorial status. After a multi-phase content audit completed on 13 May 2026, all currently published news, guides, stories, and awareness articles are graded VERIFIED or MEDIUM. Unverified historical material does not reach the public surface, and seeded biographical placeholders are not promoted into editorial.

Identity and accounts

Sign-in via Google and email is hardened: empty accounts can no longer be silently linked across providers. Identity-linking now follows a documented policy.

Carried forward from April

Burial research archive

Research articles based on Roman Firsov''s work on Soviet servicemen buried in Britain — currently 18 confirmed graves across 10 cemeteries, including Brookwood, Harrogate (Stonefall), Chester (Blacon), and Great Ouseburn. New entries appear only when confirmed by family submission or independent verification — never as bulk seeded content.

Map and regional registry

The interactive map and the regional pages reflect approved veteran profiles only. New profiles continue to be added by families across UK regions.

How to contribute

• Submit a veteran: /submit
• Join as a regional coordinator or volunteer: /coordinators · /volunteer
• Send corrections, additions, or research leads: info@moypolk.uk

We do not publish what we cannot stand behind. Feedback is read and acted on.