This article presents the results of the analysis of the first two Charters of Saint Petersburg Mining University. A short period of educational activity of the first t in Russia is represented: from the date of the decree founding the Mining School in 1773 and the first Charter approved by Catherine II to the beginning of the XIX century, namely, 1804, the year of the second Charter. These documents are considered in their cultural and historical context, and the continuity in the implementation of education and training of mining engineers is revealed. Authors compare the Charter of the Mining School (1774) with the Charter of the Land Gentry Cadet Corps (1766), as well as the Charter of the Mining Cadet Corps (1804) with the Charter of Moscow University (1804). The Charters of the last third of the XVIII -- early XIX centuries contain objective information about the formation of the higher education system in Russia. The origins of two branches of higher education in Russia, classical University and higher technical educational institution, are indicated. Within the framework of the examined texts, a range of topics and issues discussed in the Charter as in organizational and legal document is highlighted. Universal character of the Charter as a document of its time, including a description of various aspects of activities of the educational institution, is noted. Analysis of the texts showed that Charters of the Mining School and the Mining Cadet Corps determined the life order of a closed educational institution. At the heart of its work was the task of educating a new person for a state service. All this allows us to consider the Charter as a historical and cultural document of a certain period.