During the Crimean War, battles took place not only in Tavrida and the Caucasus but also 10,000 kilometers from the Black Sea, near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. On August 18, 1854, a squadron of six ships under the command of Rear Admiral David Price approached Kamchatka and soon began intense shelling of the Russian fortress. Governor Vasily Zavoyko ordered that women and children leave the city and take shelter in the hills. However, not everyone followed this directive.

Simple Cossack Agafya Ivanovna Karandash stayed at the battle positions, providing assistance to wounded soldiers. She became the local 'Dasha Sevastopolskaya.' Throughout the days of the assault, she did not leave the bastion, bandaging the wounded, bringing them water, helping those who could not continue fighting to retreat, and at night, restoring the defensive structures destroyed by shelling.

After unsuccessful assaults on August 24, 1854, the enemy squadron decided to leave the waters of Kamchatka. Eyewitnesses described it this way: the French and English, waist-deep in water, hurried to their boats and barges, carrying the wounded and dead on their shoulders; bullets whistled, leaving new victims. An English barge, initially overcrowded with people, sailed away with eight rowers; the rest were wounded or dead and lay in heaps, emitting heart-wrenching groans. The Russian garrison lost 115 men killed and wounded in that siege, while the allied army lost 830.

The surviving Russian soldiers received thanks from the governor, and the bravest were awarded medals. Agafya Karandash was also awarded the 'For Diligence' medal on the Anninsky ribbon. She lived to a ripe old age and became the last witness of the heroic defense of Petropavlovsk. Until her death, one of the farewell whistles of any military steamer leaving Petropavlovsk was always intended for Agafya Ivanovna.