It was founded in 1931. The Academy is the only university which is subordinate to the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.For more than 90 years, RFTA has been training professionals for foreign economic activity. Graduates of the Academy become specialists in the field of international trade, international finance and international economic law.

The structure of the RFTA includes:

• five faculties: Faculty of International Economists (FIE), Faculty of International Finance (FIF), Faculty of Foreign Trade Management (FFTM), Faculty of International Law (FIL) and Faculty of International Business (FIB);
• seven research units: the Institute of International Economics and Finance, the Council for the Study of Productive Forces, the Center for Financial Monitoring, the Institute for Macroeconomic Research, the center for the development of program-oriented management, the Institute for the Development of Integration Processes, the center for data Analysis;
• higher courses of foreign languages.

According to the level of salaries of young professionals in the "Superjob for students" rating, RFTA ranks third in the field of Economics and Finance and ninth in the legal field.According to the level of demand for graduates, graduates of the Law Faculty of the Academy occupy the third place among graduates of Moscow law faculties.