Melkumov was born to a working-class
Armenian family in the village of
Kherkhan, near the town of
Shusha. His father Arshak was a bricklayer by profession. In 1890, his family moved to
Ashgabat, where Yakov learned the
Turkmen language and learned to ride a horse. In 1906 he graduated from the 6th grade of the
gymnasium in Ashgabat. In 1907, he was drafted into the
Imperial Russian Army, sent to study at the Nikolaev Cavalry School, and released into the regular army with the rank of cavalry staff captain (). During the First World War, he commanded a machine-gun unit in the
4th Cavalry Division of the
6th Army Corps.
Russian Civil War Melkumov joined the
Bolshevik Party in 1918. In June 1922, he commanded the 2nd Turkestan Cavalry Brigade during the offensive of the Red Army against the forces of
Enver Pasha. The Ottoman general Enver Pasha had come to Central Asia to lead the anti-Soviet
Basmachi Revolt in 1921. Despite the significant numerical superiority of Enver Pasha's Basmachi detachments, they were defeated by units of the Red Army. According to Melkumov's memoirs, Enver Pasha fled to the village of Chagan after he had been defeated in a battle near
Baljuvon (modern-day
Tajikistan) in August 1922. He was ambushed in Chagan by a squadron of Red Army cavalry and killed by machine-gun fire outside the village mosque, although there are other versions of Enver's death. Some sources write that Melkumov personally killed Enver Pasha with his sabre, although Melkumov does not claim this in his memoirs. For his military achievements during the Gissar campaign and for his defeat of Enver Pasha's army, Melkumov was awarded his second
Order of the Red Banner. On June 20, 1930, Melkumov's cavalry brigade, in agreement with the Afghan government,
invaded Afghanistan to strike at the Basmachi bases. In 1934, he graduated from the
Frunze Military Academy. From 1934 to 1937, he was the assistant commander of the
Central Asian Military District. == Arrest and rehabilitation ==