It is located north of the Mare Moscoviense and south of the larger crater Von Neumann.

It is named after the Soviet cosmonaut, Andriyan Nikolaev.

There is a shelf running around much of the wide inner edge where the material has slumped, and some terracing along the northeastern side.

The interior floor is rugged in places, particularly in the eastern half, and is marked by several small impacts in the southern half.

There is a small central rise near the midpoint.