Abstract: The object of the study is the personal composition of the Moscow Magistrate in 1722 and 1744, as well as various aspects of the formation and functioning of city magistrates in Russia of the XVIII century. The choice of the Moscow Posad, in addition to the importance of its place among the urban settlements of Russia, is due to the fact that both stages of the formation of the composition of magistrate officers in Moscow are provided with sources that fairly fully and in detail reflect the election procedure. In contrast to the available studies, the emphasis is not on the policy of the state authorities in relation to the village population, but on the motives and strategies of the village taxmen themselves, who elected magistrate ministers. An analysis of the composition of the Moscow Magistrate in the 1720s and 1740s demonstrates that the townspeople sought, formally following the letter of the law, with the help of elections to draw the attention of the central government to certain difficulties faced by the townspeople community. In addition to the general village interests, the interests of individual groups that clashed in the struggle were reflected in the election process and the composition of the electors. A comparative analysis of two episodes of the elections to the Moscow Magistrate reveals a complex combination of both conflict and consolidation within the posad at different stages of the formation and functioning of this important structure of city self-government.