"FRAU BASILEVA'S HAMLET" AND OTHERS: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF GERNAM COLONIZATION OF THE ORENBURG REGION IN THE 19<sup>TH</sup> - EARLY 20<sup>TH </sup>CENTURIES
The author made an attempt to show the agricultural development of the Orenburg region by German colonists in the 19<sup>th</sup> - early 20<sup>th</sup> centuries against the background of other colonization models practiced in this area by other, in particular Slavic, ethnic groups. The case studies include the unsuccessful A. Rolgeiser colony of 1825, as well as the history of Davlekanovsky and Dejevsky settlements in the Orenburg province in the late 19<sup>th</sup> - early 20<sup>th</sup> century. The comparison clearly demonstrated that the German colonists were active participants but not the main driving force in the colonization process.