[1] Khudaibergen Devanov was born in 1879 into the family of the secretary of Haman and manager of and superintendent of possessions at Khojeyli, Nurmuhammad Devan.

He learned how to read and write in Russian between the ages of 14 and 15, and he studied German from German-speaking Mennonites in Khiva living at the White Mosque.

His first teacher was Volga German photographer and filmmaker Wilhelm Penner, who introduced him to photography and camera work.

[2] In the conservative Islamic society of Khiva, where there was a religious ban on the depiction of all things animated, Devanov managed to pursue his hobby of photography.

The members of the party Polyazxoji Khiva Yusupov, Sholikarov, Mulla Bekchan Raxmanov, Otajanov, as well as Akmal Ikramov and Fayzulla from Uzbekistan, joined forces with Devanov against Stalinist economics, saying the state was the enemy of the people.