The Russian-born Professor Vladimir
Shlapentokh is a history graduate of Kiev State
University and the Economic Statistical Institute. He
became a candidate of Economic Science in 1956 at the
prestigious Moscow Institute of Economics and received
his Doctorate of Economic Science at the Institute of
World Economy and International Affairs in 1966.
Professor Shlapentokh took advantage of the relaxed
immigration laws in the Soviet Union under Party
Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, immigrating to the United
States in July, 1979. He received his American
citizenship in September, 1986.
Before emigrating to the United
States, Dr. Shlapentokhg was a Senior Fellow in the
Seciological Institute in Moscow, and he conducted the
first nationwide public opinion surveys in the Soviet
Union. In the Soviet Union he published ten books and
dozens of articles on various social issues and
methodology of sociological issues.
After he arrived in the U.S., Dr.
Shlapentokh joined the American academic community and
became a professor of sociology at Michigan State
University. While teaching at Michigan State, he has
shared his Soviet-era experiences with his students.
Dr. Shlapentokh has been widely published, including
twelve books and many professional articles about the
post-Soviet period.
Dr. Shlapentokh often travels to
Russia and interviews government officials, business
leaders and fellow academias. He is a consultant to
the United States government, regularly reporting on
social processes, ideology, and public opinion in
Russia and other former Soviet Republics.
