The fountain pen community is but one reminder at how small the world can be, and how easy it is to touch each other despite the physical distance and our boundaries. For many of us, fountain pens bring us joy when often the world brings us only chaos and heartache.

Most of the time, we meet virtually through social media or pen forums, but sometimes in person, through pen shows or in our homes to say hello. I’ve been fortunate to meet such pen friends from all around the world: Sweden, New Zealand, South Korea, Greece, France, Japan, the Philippines, Brazil, Poland, Australia, India, France, Italy, South Africa, Taiwan, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, Ireland, Canada, the UK, and Ukraine.

One such fountain pen lover, Oleg Kolbasenko, lives in Ukraine. We have watched from afar as Putin commits war crimes in Oleg’s country. His posts, once littered with his favorite fountain pens, are now about atrocities being committed against the Ukraine people. His posts are earnest, painful and heartbreaking to read, and he brings the Russian incursion closer to many of us. Below is his post made on or around June 1, 2022.

Democracy, dear friends, is in danger everywhere. Please don’t look away.

Of note: Opposed to the invasion of Ukraine, the BENU Pen team left Russia. They’ve moved their manufacturing to Armenia, and this relocation is why their online store is currently unavailable. Their webstore is back online as of 22-Jun-09. According to the US distributor, Luxury Brands, BENU was not allowed to remove all their manufacturing equipment from Russia, and had to buy new equipment in Armenia. You can still buy their pens from retailers who stock BENU. A couple of posts via Reddit: Breaking news from BENU Pen, and a recent Update.

Comments off. If you have something to say, write to Montblanc and ask them why they are still in Russia. Or write Aurora, Yafa, Luxury Brands, and BENU to thank them for their support of Ukraine.