Despite his
health problems, he made good progress at school and eventually won a
free scholarship to the Tiflis Theological Seminary. While studying at
the seminary he joined a secret organization called Messame Dassy.
Members were supporters of Georgian independence from Russia. In May,
1899, Stalin was expelled from the Tiflis Theological Seminary. Several
reasons were given for this action including disrespect for those in
authority and reading forbidden books. Stalin was later to claim that
the real reason was that he had been trying to convert his fellow
students to Marxism.
In 1901 Stalin joined the Social Democratic Labour Party
and whereas most of the leaders were living in exile, he stayed in
Russia where he helped to organize industrial resistance to Tsarism. On
18th April, 1902, Stalin was arrested after coordinating a strike at
the large Rothschild plant at Batum. After spending 18 months in prison
Stalin was deported to Siberia. Stalin, like Gregory Zinoviev, Anatoli Lunacharsky, Mikhail Lashevich, Nadezhda Krupskaya, and Alexander Bogdanov joined the Bolsheviks. Whereas George Plekhanov, Pavel Axelrod, Lev Deich, Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, Leon Trotsky, Vera Zasulich, Irakli Tsereteli, and Fedor Dan supported Julius Martov.