 He joined the Social Democratic movement in 1891 and participated in activities in Georgia and Azerbaijan.In 1903, he joined the Caucasian Joint Committee of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party and played an active role in the 1905 Revolution in the Caucasus; he was allegedly involved in the assassination of the prominent Georgian public figure Ilia Chavchavadze in 1907.In 1907–1915, he led various Bolshevik groups in Transcaucasia and, after the February Revolution, he co-founded the Tbilisi Soviet of Workers' Deputies.