Since early 2009, high-resolution solar absorption spectra have been recorded at the Peterhof station (59.88°N, 29.82°E) of Saint Petersburg State University located in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. Measurements are made with the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) system, which consists of Bruker IFS 125HR instrument (with maximum spectral resolution of 0.005cm-1) and self-designed solar tracker. We derived total column (TC) of a dozen of atmospheric gases from recorded spectra and performed the error analysis of these retrievals. Furthermore, we analysed the temporal variability of the important climatically active gases, such as H2O, CH4, O3, CO, and NO2 near St. Petersburg and compared our retrievals with independent ground-based and satellite data, as well as with the results of EMAC model numerical simulations. Currently, the results of our measurements and the measuring system are under validation for entering the international Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC).