Nikolay Timofeyevich Tanayev (Russian: Николай Тимофеевич Танаев; 5 November 1945 – 19 July 2020) was a Kyrgyz politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from 2002 to 2005, under President Askar Akayev.

On 24 March 2005 Tanayev resigned as Prime Minister in the midst of the Tulip Revolution.

Almost a month later he became special envoy for foreign economic relations in his native Penza region in Russia.

However, by June the Acting Prosecutor-General, Azimbek Beknazarov told Parliament that his office had issued an order for Tanayev's arrest.

One of the charges relates to 40 million soms ($977,000) in state funds allegedly transferred to a company controlled by his son.