When the Lithuanian press ban was lifted in 1904, Davainis-Silvestraitis moved to Vilnius in August 1904 and worked at the bookstore established by Petras Vileišis. He was considered for editors of "Vilniaus žinios" but was rejected due to his lack of education. Not finding a steady income in Vilnius, he moved to Saint Petersburg in December 1904 to work at the editorial office of "Lietuvių laikraštis". There he was a witness to the Bloody Sunday that sparked the Russian Revolution of 1905. Davainis-Silvestraitis was dissatisfied with working conditions at "Lietuvių laikraštis" and returned to Vilnius in March 1905. He joined various Lithuanian societies active in the city and contributed articles to "Viltis" and "Šaltinis". He was one of the organizers of the Great Seimas of Vilnius in December 1905. He was one of the four people to sign the controversial memorandum to Sergei Witte, Prime Minister of the Russian Empire. However, he refused to join the () organized right after the Seimas by Jonas Basanavičius because of its anti-nobility platform and demands that land should be distributed to peasants. His position was misunderstood by other Lithuanian activists and he began distancing himself from the Lithuanian public life.