Abstract This chapter examines how the biopolitical approach can help to unpack the illiberal backsliding of national states. It demonstrates the Russian state’s illiberal degradation toward totalitarianism from the beginning of Putin’s presidency in the 2000s, moving from the “power of life” to the “power of death.” The chapter argues that the biopolitical approach revealed the Kremlin’s totalitarian potential during the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev in 2008–2012. Since 2012, Moscow has been intensively applying biopolitical regulations to consolidate Russian society on the basis of conservative values and imperial ressentiment. Body-oriented discourse has become popular among Russian politicians due to its ability to substitute post-ideological forms for public politics. As Putin’s regime continues to solidify, it replaces politico-ideological arguments with force and violence against political opponents. This chapter tells the story of the Kremlin’s zoe- and thanatopoliticization through the normalization of violence, its ultimate manifestation being the full-fledged war with Ukraine.