The working bodies of the city council are the leadership, permanent and temporary committees and factions.

The City Council issues regulations as legislation of general application and adopts resolutions as individual acts.

On the basis of the General Russian Town Law, the right to vote was given to all subjects of the Russian Empire who were at least 25 years old, had lived in the city of Tallinn for at least 2 years and owned real estate or a company in the city.

Until 1892, voters were divided into 3 classes (curias) based on the amount of taxes paid to the city, each of which had the right to appoint one third of the 72 members of the Duma, who were elected for four years.

[2] In the December 1904 Duma elections, the joint Estonian-Russian electoral bloc achieved a majority for the first time in history.

[3] The coalition collapsed on 26 March 2024 as the Social Democrats joined the opposition in voting for the motion of no confidence in mayor Mihhail Kõlvart.