Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Ovchinnikov (Russian: Вячесла́в Алекса́ндрович Овчи́нников; born 29 May 1936 in Voronezh) is a Russian composer. He began composing at age 9 and entered the Moscow Conservatory at 15. Later he studied with Tikhon Khrennikov and Lev Ginzburg. He has composed symphonies, symphonic poems, as well as works for chamber orchestra, small ensembles and solo instruments. Ovchinnikov also had a successful career as a touring conductor from the 1970s. He has recorded for Melodiya, the Russian record company. He was also a professor at the University of Kansas from 1990 to 1991.