St. Petersburg is the most northern city in the world with a population of over one million. Among the cities entirely located in Europe, St. Petersburg is the third most populous, as well as the first city in terms of population that is not the capital. St. Petersburg is one of the most important economic, scientific and cultural center of Russia, a major transport hub. The historical center of St. Petersburg and related complexes of monuments are included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage objects, this is one of the most important tourism centers in the country.

Among the most significant cultural and tourist sites are the Hermitage, the Kunstkamera, the Mariinsky Theater, the Russian National Library, the Russian Museum, the Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Isaac's Cathedral, Nevsky Prospekt.

St. Petersburg Mining University is the first higher technical institute in Russia, founded by the Decree of Empress Catherine II on October 21 (November 1), 1773, as the embodiment of the ideas of Peter I and M.V. Lomonosov on the training of engineering personnel for the development of mining. This date became the birthday of the entire higher technical education of Russia.

Currently, more than 12 thousand students are studying at the Mining University in the field of mining and oil and gas, geology, metallurgy, industrial and civil construction, mechanical engineering, energy, sectoral economy, industrial safety, geoecology, and bachelors, masters and specialists (engineers) are being trained in 32 enlarged areas. More than 180 doctors of sciences and professors, about 600 candidates of sciences and associate professors, about 120 academicians and corresponding members of various international and Russian academies work at 49 departments and branches of the university.

The Mining Museum is a repository of unique collections, it contains more than 250 thousand exhibits collected from all continents and from more than 80 countries of the world. It is one of the three best natural science museums in the world. The University has the richest scientific and technical library, which has more than 1.2 million books and magazines with rarities of the XV-XIX centuries. The modern material and technical base and developed infrastructure allow the University to hold international events at the highest level with the participation of heads of industries and the largest domestic and foreign companies.