Vladimir Emmanuilovich Shlapentokh (Russian: Влади́мир Эммануи́лович Шляпенто́х, Vladimir Èmmanuilovič Šlâpentoh; 19 October 1926 – 6 October 2015) was a Soviet-born American sociologist, historian, political scientist, and university professor, notable for his work on Soviet and Russian society and politics as well as theoretical work in sociology. He was a Professor of Sociology at Michigan State University (MSU).Vladimir Shlapentokh was widely considered a "founding father" (together with , Boris Grushin, and Yuri Levada) of Soviet sociology.