This article combines a publication consisting of a biographical essay dedicated to the life and work of the first rector of the revived St. Petersburg Imperial University Mikhail Andreevich Balugyansky (1769-1847) and two of his works on political economy, published for the first time in an edition adapted to the rules of the modern Russian language. In 1819, work began on organizing scientific research in the field of political economy at the revived St. Petersburg University, and for this purpose, a department of the encyclopedia of legal and political sciences and political economy was opened, headed by Professor Balugyansky. The biography of M. A. Balugyansky presented in the article reveals the pages of his life associated with serving for the good of Russia - organizing the activities of St. Petersburg University, working on compiling the Code of Laws under the leadership of M. M. Speransky, teaching the Grand Dukes and much more. The publication of Mikhail Andreevich's works actually brings back to modern scientific circulation his works devoted to issues relevant to economic science of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. These works by Balugyansky were published in 1806 and 1808 in the Statistical Journal of K. F. German, published by the Imperial Academy of Sciences. The study analyzes the content of these works and provides comments on their main provisions. Their consideration gives the modern researcher the opportunity to literally directly observe the formation of economic thought in Russia at the corresponding historical stage of its development. They are of unconditional interest to researchers of the history of economics and economic thought in Russia. Familiarity with them can be useful not only for economists, but also for historians studying the development of the national economy, as well as for all readers interested in the development of Russian culture. Based on the materials of this publication, the authors prepared a section dedicated to the life and work of M. A. Balugyansky in the Reader of Economic Thought dedicated to the anniversary of St. Petersburg State University.