Both in historical works and in journalism, it is often stated that due to his diplomatic experience in St. Petersburg, O. von Bismarck possessed a qualitatively better knowledge and understanding of Russia than his compatriots. The purpose of the article is to test this hypothesis by comparing the system of Bismarck’s beliefs about the Russian Empire with those from the German high-quality press of the 1880s. The sources of this research are statements of the "Iron Chancellor" and articles from three most reputable daily German newspapers. As a result of the study, two key conclusions were drawn. Firstly, there was a single image of the Russian Empire in newspapers of various political orientations. Secondly, the characteristic features of this image almost completely coincided with Bismarck's beliefs about Russia. Thus, the hypothesis about the special knowledge and understanding of Russia by the "Iron Chancellor" is found to be wrong.