In 1894 he continued his studies at the Kutaisi Theological Seminary, where he became involved in the work of the students' social-democratic circles.

After graduating, in 1900, he enrolled at Yuryev University, from which he was expelled on March 3, 1901, for participating in student activism.

He left Batumi in 1904 because the gendarmerie was pursuing him and he settled in Tbilisi with an illegal passport under the name of "Apollon Sofromi Lomadze".

During the 1905 Russian Revolution he was one of the leaders and organizers in Tbilisi, was involved in the formation of the armed "Red Guards".

In 1907, he participated in the 5th Congress of the RSDLP in London as a delegate of the Tbilisi Organization, and was elected a member of the Menshevik Central Committee.

In 1908, he arrived in Geneva from Leipzig to attend a meeting of the RSDLP CEC, where he confronted Stalin, leading to a physical altercation between the two.

During the First World War he was the initiator of discussions in the party to resolve the issue of Georgian independence.

In the same year he was a member of the executive committee of the Soviet of Deputies of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers of Tbilisi.

On May 26, 1918, he signed the Declaration of Independence, on the same day he was elected the first Chairman of the Provisional Government of the newly formed Democratic Republic of Georgia.

He was frequently criticized by the Georgian opposition for his harsh reaction to the peasant disturbances in 1918 and 1919, yet his role in preventing large-scale Bolshevik revolts cannot be overlooked.

The struggle against the Bolshevik regime did not stop, Ramishvili joined the Committee for the Independence of Georgia and became an active organizer during the August Uprising, which ended unsuccessfully and was followed by mass repressions against the Georgian nobility and intellectuals.