Irina Melnikova graduated from the Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) State University in 1979 and completed her PhD on Japanese literature of the 18th century at the same university in 1983. From 1980 to 1996 she was a lecturer and assistant professor of the Oriental faculty (Japanese department) in the Saint Petersburg State University. Her first translation was published in 1991, and several translations of Edo period authors (Ayatari Takebe, Akinari Ueda, Shunsui Tamenaga) followed. She also translated Sarashina Nikki (1997). She has translated Ude kurabe by Kafu Nagai, Kasha by Miyuki Miyabe and Gold Rush by Yu Miri for JLPP.