UNECON is recognized as the best centre for teaching and research in finance and economics in Russia on the list of finance and economics universities provided by the Ministry of Education of Russia. Founded in 1930, the university became the largest financial research and education center in the former Soviet Union, and was also home to the Central Bank in Soviet times. Since 2013, St. Petersburg State University of Economic Services and St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Engineering have been merged and renamed as St Petersburg State University of Economics (UNECON). The school badge is a gold-guarding holy beast.

UNECON (Санкт-Петербургский государственный экономический университ) consists of 31 disciplines, 11 full-time departments, 66 teaching and research offices, 10 branch campuses, one main campus, one language preparatory department, a Higher Economics School (included in the list of top 15 business schools of the Russian Business School), and one international education base. It is one of the most influential universities in Russia and a leader in economic education in the Russian Federation and the CIS countries. UNECON boasts innovative training courses, advanced teaching techniques, educational and scientific potential, and the best traditional education heritages of former Soviet Union and Russia.