Descriptions of Nikolai Ashinov's appearance given by different people do not match. The Frenchman Jean-Robert de Constanten recalls him as a man with a high forehead, a kind face, and gentle hands. Russian journalists described him as having golden hair, a fluffy beard, and blue eyes, noting him as a handsome Russian lad. However, we are more interested in his active efforts to turn Ethiopia into a Russian Christian colony. According to some sources, Nikolai Ashinov came from a family of Volga peasants, but he is remembered as a Cossack ataman.

In 1885, he became passionate about creating a Russian colony in Abyssinia, the land of 'black Christians.' After gathering a significant amount of money from capital merchants, he set off with a detachment to the African shores. On January 14, 1886, the 'Moscow News' published an article 'News from Abyssinia,' reporting the arrival of Cossacks led by Ataman Ashinov on African territory. Later, a correspondent from 'New Time' noted that Nikolai Ashinov and his men made a deep impression on the local population with their magnificence, the display of the Russian flag, and Christian icons. The settlement on the shores of Africa was named New Moscow by the Cossacks. Ashinov reported to the capital: 'For 50 versts along the shore and 100 inland, Russian land.' The Russian government seriously considered the colonization of Ethiopia. A second town was already being built in Abyssinia, and 200 colonists raised another Russian flag on the shore, but colonial empires intervened.

France particularly disapproved of the exploration of African territories. Admiral Olgery issued an ultimatum to the Russians demanding their immediate departure from Ethiopia. The towns responded with silence, and ultimately, the cruisers' guns destroyed part of the settlements, leading to the death of women and children. Russia decided not to start a war, and the colonists returned to their homeland. Ashinov himself, according to various sources, died in the Kamyshin district of Saratov.