The article considers the question of the perception of the Russian political elite of events related to the uprising led by A. Ipsilanti and the development of the Greek revolution. The key methodological innovation of this study is the desire to abstract from purely diplomatic subjects, various aspects of foreign policy activities, as well as from the generalized model of coexistence of the “party of war” and the “party of peace” adopted in historiography. It is supposed to focus on the rhetoric of key actors, prominent dignitaries, diplomats, military, publicists, public figures and finally the emperor himself and his family members. An analysis of a wide range of narrative sources makes it possible to conclude that the mythology of the conspiracy of secret societies was a cultural dominant that determined the understanding of events by their participants. During the years 1821-1825 the conspiracy approach began to increasingly capture the minds of the political leadership of the Russian Empire and ultimately pushed Alexander to the idea of the need to intervene in Greek events in order to prevent the spread of “revolutionary contagion” throughout the European continent.