Nikolayev, also spelled Nikolaev, or Nikolayeva (feminine; Николаева), is a Russian last name and may refer to: People Aleksey Nikolayev (b. 1979), an Uzbekistani football player Alene Nikolayev, a Bulgarian civic society leader Andrian Nikolayev, a Soviet cosmonaut Leonid Nikolaev, a Russian communist, the assassin of Sergei Kirov Leonid Vladimirovich Nikolayev, a Russian pianist, composer, and pedagogue Mikhail Nikolayev, a So… (More on Nikolayev)