The authors focus on the problem of the formation, development and decay of urban political regimes. The latter refers to the coalition of actors with resources at their disposal, acting on the basis of formal and informal norms in the implementation of the stated agenda. Based on the analysis of foreign and Russian studies in the field of urban communities and local political control problems the authors deduce the key characteristics of the political regime and offer tools to describe it. Using the modern political history of a large industrial center (Novokuznetsk) as an example the author shows the mechanism of formation of the ruling groups, and explains the reasons for the success of one of them in gaining political leadership. Particular attention is paid to the organization of interaction between enterprises, businesses, media, public policy makers and municipal authorities during election cycles, as well as between them. The article makes a conclusion about local political regime being incorporated into modern vertical of power.