[4] He completed a DPhil in mathematics in 1982, working as an instructor/lecturer and eventually an associate professor at his alma mater Moscow State University.

In 1999, he obtainted a DSc in pedagogy (education science) and obtained a full professorship in 2002.

[5] Melnikov helped found the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the successor to the CPSU in Russia, in 1993.

He first received a deputy mandate for the State Duma in 1995 as part of the CPRF electoral list.

[6] Melnikov was sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.