The article attempts to use the example of a large Russian city (Yekaterinburg) to reveal two components of protest: “real” and electoral. The features of large cities that cause protest activity are analyzed. It is estimated how the political history of Yekaterinburg influenced the formation of the political culture of the city's residents and the format of their political activity. The analysis of protest activity of Yekaterinburg residents over the past two years is carried out, as a result of which protest activity is classified into four categories: urban planning protest; protest against restrictive measures imposed in the region in connection with the spread of COVID-19; protest against the increase in tariffs for housing and communal services, and other protest topics. Based on electoral statistics, including the presidential elections of the Russian Federation (2018), the All-Russian vote on the approval of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation (2020), the elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation (2021), the elections of deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk region (2021), the elections of the Governor of the Sverdlovsk region (2022) are made conclusions about the peculiarities of electoral behavior of Yekaterinburg residents. The strategies and forms of electoral protest are determined. As a result, the proven methodological approach can be used to analyze the specifics of the electoral protest of individual territories and regions of the Russian Federation.