2006 | Dakar | 2006 in music | 2006 FIFA World Cup | World Rally Championship | 2006 Commonwealth Games | Rally | 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games | Swimming at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games | 2006 in television | 2006 Winter Olympics | 2006 ATP Tour | Dakar Rally | Canadian federal election, 2006 | 2006 Asian Games | rally | 2006 in baseball | Eurovision Song Contest 2006 | Casino Royale (2006 film) | Robin Hood (2006 TV series) | Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006 | 2006 Australian Open | Invincible (2006 film) | 2006 World Series of Poker | 2006 NFL season | Miss Universe 2006 | European Rally Championship | 2006 World Weightlifting Championships | 2006 Tour de France | 2006 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships |
Nikolaev made his Dakar debut in 2006 as mechanic for Kamaz's Sergey Reshetnikov, finishing in 18th overall, before moving across to the crew led by Ilgizar Mardeev in 2007.
During the 2006 Dakar Rally he won the third stage, but later died from a neck injury when crashing during the ninth stage, 250 km into the 599 km special stage from Nouakchott to Kiffa.