Upon the outbreak of the rebellion in Ottoman Greece, Hangerli felt threatened by a possible Ottoman move against the Phanariotes. He was allegedly warned by the Russian ambassador to the Porte, Alexander Grigoriyevich Stroganov, that, as a prominent Greek in Istanbul, he risked being assassinated, and decided to flee the country. Hangerli and his family (including his two sons, Gregory and Telemach), embarked on a small ship and took sail across the Black Sea, taking harbor in Odessa (where they were given asylum by Novorossiya's governor, Alexandre Langeron). Alexander Hangerli soon moved to Moscow, where he was received with honors by Emperor Alexander I. His title was recognized by Russian nobility, and his two sons were appointed Counsellors. In 1840-1842, he published a three-volume dictionary of French, Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish words, which was printed by the Russian state; in full, it was titled '. In recognition of this work, he was awarded the Order of St. Anna. According to the ', he had begun work on the volumes as early as 1806, upon the request of Armand Charles Guilleminot, future Ambassador to the Porte. Hangerli retired from public life after that date, and dedicated himself to the education of his grandson, Michel Ulangali (a literary critic, the latter settled in France).