[2] Kolguyev has been settled for several centuries by Nenets people, who used the island as a base for seal and reindeer hunting, as well as fishing.

[3] In 1841, an expedition by the Russian Academy of Sciences under Franz Josef Ruprecht and Professor Saweljaw visited the island in July and August.

Due to mechanical problems with the vessel and a misunderstanding, they were left stranded on the island for 12 weeks.

He published his study of the natural history and topography of Kolguyev as Ice-Bound on Kolguev (Trevor-Battye 1895).

The book includes observations on the Nenets (whom he called Samoyed) who brought their reindeer to the island for summer grazing and to trap geese for trade in Russia.

[3] Trevor-Battye eventually left the island with these reindeer herders in September 1894, and had to travel 1,000 miles (1,600 km) overland from the Pechora River to Archangel.

Nenets form the majority of the population, with fishing, reindeer farming and trapping being their main economic activities.

In 2013 - 2014, due to the lack of sufficient food on Kolguyev Island, there was a massive death of deer.

ArktikNeft is, along with OAO Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka, which specializes in oil exploration, the only continental company that has received a license to operate on the island.

Since November 2002, ArcticNeft has had a runway capable of receiving medium-sized aircraft (Yak-40, An-24 and An-26), which the company uses mainly for its own needs, but also for the needs of the rest of the island's population, in particular, residents of the village of Bugrino.