FLINS: MY FAV POLISH-BULGARIAN REP.
I kow that a lot of Western Genshin fans either don't care about Slavic people or group them as "just Russians" and that Hoyo has tendencies to clash a few cultures in one region. Flins is no expection in that, as he has both Polish and Bulgarian influences — but I think that in his case it makes a lot of sense, so I'm going to talk about it briefly.
His Bulgarian inspo lies with his past and origin.
As it was revealed to us, Flins is a Snowland Fae, a species that once accompanied Belyi Tsar, the original Cryo Archon, his followers. Their language seems to be Latin, or at least Latin-based (akin to Enkanomiya lol).
Bulgaria is the oldest Slavic country that exists to this day, as it's origin trace back to 7th century AD — with Bulgar khan Ispor/Asparuh being credited as the estabilishor of First Bulgarian Empire. After adopting Christianity, Bulgaria became the centre of Slavic culture, its spirituality and literature.
The reign of first tsar ever, Simeon I of Bulgaria, is said to be Golden Age of Bulgarian Culture. His feats are many, among with successful campaigns against Byzaintines or Mongols, among others. I won't go into detail but while the Genshin Belyi Tsar is named after Russian mythological character, I think it is safe to assume Simeon I the Great could be his inspo as well.
Glagolitsa, or the Glagolitic script is the oldest known Slavic alphabet — which later evolved into Cyrillic alphabet we know today, named after Cyrill of Alexandria, the inventor of Glagolitsa, who moved to Bulgaria along with his brother. Cyril and Methodius are known as "Apostoles to the Slavs" for the evangelizing of these tribes.
Now, Flins' name - Kyryll - is a variant of Cyril, used mostly in Bulgaria. Same goes for his patronymic name, Chudomirovich, which comes from a Bulgarian painter and writer Chudomir. Interesingly enough, two of Chudomir's most famous short stories are titled "I'm not One of Them" and "Locals"... which in itself could describe Flins quite well. He looks human, but isn't one of them - and he's not really a local either, as Fae are not common in Nod-Krai itself.
As for his Polish inspo? His present and his duty as a Lightkeeper, as well as the association with death.
Shortly after Flins' drip marketing I saw people talk about the Polish deity of death Flins... which is only alleged (mentioned in first sentence of1 Wikipedia article, but oh well). Sorry to rain on your parade but the mythological deity Flins most likely did not exist nor have any worship or cult. As pagan Slavs did not have any writing system nor script, most of recordings we have come from German scholars - such is the case with Flins, who was described by Konrad Bothe and most likely comes both from a mistranslation and misunderstanding. I find it ironic and quite fitting for Flins' surname.
Another thing is his association with death and graveyards. This is going to be more anecdotic, as I don't have much historical records or anything to quote here, rather than my own observations of Poles and their culture nowadays.
Poles love the martyrology of their country and thus, have obsession with dead - however, unlike other cultures which also have strong ties to honouring the dead, in Poland it's all really about being sad, mourning. "If you want to speak about the deceased, it can only be good words".
Flins birthday falls on October 31st and this, actually, has strong ties to Polish culture too. Of course, Halloween falls on October 31st, but so does the Forefathers' Eve/Dziady, pre-Christian rites which essentially were communion of the living with the dead, estabilishing a relationship with your ancestors. This could, very well, tie Flins' past with his present self. Another holiday is Christian feast day, All Saints' Day on November 1st in Poland. During that day, people usually put lamps and flowers on graves, which then... makes a really beautiful sight.
(Cementary in Rogożno, Greater Poland as an example; source)
This also reminded me of Flins' unique ability to interact with graves and ghosts in Nod-Krai.
Last thing is his 4th constellation's name — Night on the Bald Mountain.
Łysa Góra, translated as the Bald Mountain, is a hill in Świętokrzyskie Mountains, Poland. The mountain has some historical & pagan connotations: first, there are legends about witches' sabbaths being held there. Second, the chronicler Jan Długosz noted that Łysa Góra was a sacret mountain and a pagan temple. Cults of few differents gods are mentioned. Later on, in the same place, the Benedictine monasery of Holy Cross was founded there, as Łysa Góra is said to enrshrine part of Christ's corpse. (whatever, least crazy claim about Polish grounds) So... what were you doing at Bald Mountain AT NIGHT, Flins?
Last thing I want to mention is his Normal Attack name, Pocztowy Demonspear. According to Genshin Wiki and Wikctionary, "pocztowy, from Polish poczet "fellowship" or "retinue," was a medium or heavy-cavalry soldier in the Royal Polish Army and later the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army from the 15th until the 18th century". Which. Is.. true. And it makes sense given his ties to historical stuff of both Bulgaria and Poland. HOWEVER no one uses that word like this anymore. First time I heard Pocztowy Demonspear just like EVERYONE in Polish fandom I assumed it was pocztowy as in postal (ie. kod pocztowy - postal code), relating to poczta (mail). Hoyo, jokes truly do write themseleves. One must imagine Flins being a mailman.
Well. That is everything for now. I had fun digging into this because I saw some people making false assumptions about Flins or just throwing around that he's Polish or Bulgarian or making a fuss about it, and I love things related to both Slavic cultures, Poland and early Chrisianity and paganism in Poland. I wanted to make this post right before Flins banner, but now I am posting it a week before Luna II. So, hope everyone who wanted Flins got him, got his cons/sig weapon or will be lucky enough to get his C6 until the end of banner. Na zdrowie! 🍷👻
