Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whanau a Yermolov i te 4 o Hune 1777 i Moscow ki tetahi whanau rangatira o Ruhia no Oryol gubernia. I puta ia i te whare wananga o te Whare Wananga o Moscow, ka uru ki roto i te Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment i te 16 o Hanuere 1787. E wha tau i muri mai, i whakatairangahia ia ki te rangatira me te whakawhiti ki te Nizhegorod Dragoon Regiment me te taumata o te rangatira. I whakaako poto ia i te Artillery me te Engineer Cadet Corps i te tau 1793 i mua i tana tono ki te whawhai ki nga kaiwhakatuma o Polani i te
Ko te pakanga a Polani o te tau 1794. I uru ia ki te whakaekenga o Praga ka riro i a ia te Order o St. George (4th akomanga) i te 12 o Hanuere 1795. I te tau e whai ake nei, i uru a Yermolov ki te Whakatairanga a Persian i te Moana o Caspian. Heoi, i mauheretia ia i te 7 o Hanuere 1799 mo te whakapae i uru atu ki te whakapae ki a Tsar Paul I me te whakapau i nga tau e rua i te whakarau ki Kostroma, i reira i ako ai ia i te reo Latina.