diff --git a/Include/internal/pycore_pylifecycle.h b/Include/internal/pycore_pylifecycle.h
index de70199..6f5c544 100644
--- a/Include/internal/pycore_pylifecycle.h
+++ b/Include/internal/pycore_pylifecycle.h
@@ -30,12 +30,13 @@
 extern _PyInitError _PySys_BeginInit(PyObject **sysmod);
 extern int _PySys_EndInit(PyObject *sysdict, PyInterpreterState *interp);
 extern _PyInitError _PyImport_Init(PyInterpreterState *interp);
-extern _PyInitError _PyExc_Init(PyObject * bltinmod);
+extern _PyInitError _PyExc_Init(void);
+extern _PyInitError _PyBuiltins_AddExceptions(PyObject * bltinmod);
 extern _PyInitError _PyImportHooks_Init(void);
 extern int _PyFloat_Init(void);
 extern _PyInitError _Py_HashRandomization_Init(const _PyCoreConfig *);
 
-extern void _Py_ReadyTypes(void);
+extern _PyInitError _Py_ReadyTypes(void);
 
 /* Various internal finalizers */
 
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Core and Builtins/2019-01-22-18-50-21.bpo-35713.bTeUsa.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Core and Builtins/2019-01-22-18-50-21.bpo-35713.bTeUsa.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..67e766f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Core and Builtins/2019-01-22-18-50-21.bpo-35713.bTeUsa.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Reorganize Python initialization to get working exceptions and sys.stderr
+earlier.
diff --git a/Objects/exceptions.c b/Objects/exceptions.c
index 8d81566..35e1df3 100644
--- a/Objects/exceptions.c
+++ b/Objects/exceptions.c
@@ -2492,7 +2492,7 @@
 #endif /* MS_WINDOWS */
 
 _PyInitError
-_PyExc_Init(PyObject *bltinmod)
+_PyExc_Init(void)
 {
 #define PRE_INIT(TYPE) \
     if (!(_PyExc_ ## TYPE.tp_flags & Py_TPFLAGS_READY)) { \
@@ -2502,21 +2502,6 @@
         Py_INCREF(PyExc_ ## TYPE); \
     }
 
-#define POST_INIT(TYPE) \
-    if (PyDict_SetItemString(bdict, # TYPE, PyExc_ ## TYPE)) { \
-        return _Py_INIT_ERR("Module dictionary insertion problem."); \
-    }
-
-#define INIT_ALIAS(NAME, TYPE) \
-    do { \
-        Py_INCREF(PyExc_ ## TYPE); \
-        Py_XDECREF(PyExc_ ## NAME); \
-        PyExc_ ## NAME = PyExc_ ## TYPE; \
-        if (PyDict_SetItemString(bdict, # NAME, PyExc_ ## NAME)) { \
-            return _Py_INIT_ERR("Module dictionary insertion problem."); \
-        } \
-    } while (0)
-
 #define ADD_ERRNO(TYPE, CODE) \
     do { \
         PyObject *_code = PyLong_FromLong(CODE); \
@@ -2526,8 +2511,6 @@
         Py_DECREF(_code); \
     } while (0)
 
-    PyObject *bdict;
-
     PRE_INIT(BaseException);
     PRE_INIT(Exception);
     PRE_INIT(TypeError);
@@ -2596,6 +2579,68 @@
     PRE_INIT(ProcessLookupError);
     PRE_INIT(TimeoutError);
 
+    if (preallocate_memerrors() < 0) {
+        return _Py_INIT_ERR("Could not preallocate MemoryError object");
+    }
+
+    /* Add exceptions to errnomap */
+    if (!errnomap) {
+        errnomap = PyDict_New();
+        if (!errnomap) {
+            return _Py_INIT_ERR("Cannot allocate map from errnos to OSError subclasses");
+        }
+    }
+
+    ADD_ERRNO(BlockingIOError, EAGAIN);
+    ADD_ERRNO(BlockingIOError, EALREADY);
+    ADD_ERRNO(BlockingIOError, EINPROGRESS);
+    ADD_ERRNO(BlockingIOError, EWOULDBLOCK);
+    ADD_ERRNO(BrokenPipeError, EPIPE);
+#ifdef ESHUTDOWN
+    ADD_ERRNO(BrokenPipeError, ESHUTDOWN);
+#endif
+    ADD_ERRNO(ChildProcessError, ECHILD);
+    ADD_ERRNO(ConnectionAbortedError, ECONNABORTED);
+    ADD_ERRNO(ConnectionRefusedError, ECONNREFUSED);
+    ADD_ERRNO(ConnectionResetError, ECONNRESET);
+    ADD_ERRNO(FileExistsError, EEXIST);
+    ADD_ERRNO(FileNotFoundError, ENOENT);
+    ADD_ERRNO(IsADirectoryError, EISDIR);
+    ADD_ERRNO(NotADirectoryError, ENOTDIR);
+    ADD_ERRNO(InterruptedError, EINTR);
+    ADD_ERRNO(PermissionError, EACCES);
+    ADD_ERRNO(PermissionError, EPERM);
+    ADD_ERRNO(ProcessLookupError, ESRCH);
+    ADD_ERRNO(TimeoutError, ETIMEDOUT);
+
+    return _Py_INIT_OK();
+
+#undef PRE_INIT
+#undef ADD_ERRNO
+}
+
+
+/* Add exception types to the builtins module */
+_PyInitError
+_PyBuiltins_AddExceptions(PyObject *bltinmod)
+{
+#define POST_INIT(TYPE) \
+    if (PyDict_SetItemString(bdict, # TYPE, PyExc_ ## TYPE)) { \
+        return _Py_INIT_ERR("Module dictionary insertion problem."); \
+    }
+
+#define INIT_ALIAS(NAME, TYPE) \
+    do { \
+        Py_INCREF(PyExc_ ## TYPE); \
+        Py_XDECREF(PyExc_ ## NAME); \
+        PyExc_ ## NAME = PyExc_ ## TYPE; \
+        if (PyDict_SetItemString(bdict, # NAME, PyExc_ ## NAME)) { \
+            return _Py_INIT_ERR("Module dictionary insertion problem."); \
+        } \
+    } while (0)
+
+    PyObject *bdict;
+
     bdict = PyModule_GetDict(bltinmod);
     if (bdict == NULL) {
         return _Py_INIT_ERR("exceptions bootstrapping error.");
@@ -2656,61 +2701,28 @@
     POST_INIT(BytesWarning);
     POST_INIT(ResourceWarning);
 
-    if (!errnomap) {
-        errnomap = PyDict_New();
-        if (!errnomap) {
-            return _Py_INIT_ERR("Cannot allocate map from errnos to OSError subclasses");
-        }
-    }
-
     /* OSError subclasses */
     POST_INIT(ConnectionError);
 
     POST_INIT(BlockingIOError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(BlockingIOError, EAGAIN);
-    ADD_ERRNO(BlockingIOError, EALREADY);
-    ADD_ERRNO(BlockingIOError, EINPROGRESS);
-    ADD_ERRNO(BlockingIOError, EWOULDBLOCK);
     POST_INIT(BrokenPipeError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(BrokenPipeError, EPIPE);
-#ifdef ESHUTDOWN
-    ADD_ERRNO(BrokenPipeError, ESHUTDOWN);
-#endif
     POST_INIT(ChildProcessError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(ChildProcessError, ECHILD);
     POST_INIT(ConnectionAbortedError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(ConnectionAbortedError, ECONNABORTED);
     POST_INIT(ConnectionRefusedError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(ConnectionRefusedError, ECONNREFUSED);
     POST_INIT(ConnectionResetError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(ConnectionResetError, ECONNRESET);
     POST_INIT(FileExistsError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(FileExistsError, EEXIST);
     POST_INIT(FileNotFoundError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(FileNotFoundError, ENOENT);
     POST_INIT(IsADirectoryError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(IsADirectoryError, EISDIR);
     POST_INIT(NotADirectoryError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(NotADirectoryError, ENOTDIR);
     POST_INIT(InterruptedError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(InterruptedError, EINTR);
     POST_INIT(PermissionError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(PermissionError, EACCES);
-    ADD_ERRNO(PermissionError, EPERM);
     POST_INIT(ProcessLookupError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(ProcessLookupError, ESRCH);
     POST_INIT(TimeoutError);
-    ADD_ERRNO(TimeoutError, ETIMEDOUT);
 
-    if (preallocate_memerrors() < 0) {
-        return _Py_INIT_ERR("Could not preallocate MemoryError object");
-    }
     return _Py_INIT_OK();
 
-#undef PRE_INIT
 #undef POST_INIT
 #undef INIT_ALIAS
-#undef ADD_ERRNO
 }
 
 void
diff --git a/Objects/fileobject.c b/Objects/fileobject.c
index 313f1d0..babaa05 100644
--- a/Objects/fileobject.c
+++ b/Objects/fileobject.c
@@ -359,6 +359,9 @@
     Py_ssize_t n;
     int err;
 
+    /* The function can clear the current exception */
+    assert(!PyErr_Occurred());
+
     if (self->fd < 0) {
         /* fd might be invalid on Windows
          * I can't raise an exception here. It may lead to an
@@ -367,10 +370,11 @@
         Py_RETURN_NONE;
     }
 
-    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "U", &unicode))
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "U", &unicode)) {
         return NULL;
+    }
 
-    /* encode Unicode to UTF-8 */
+    /* Encode Unicode to UTF-8/surrogateescape */
     str = PyUnicode_AsUTF8AndSize(unicode, &n);
     if (str == NULL) {
         PyErr_Clear();
diff --git a/Objects/floatobject.c b/Objects/floatobject.c
index 67f9e5d..b952df8 100644
--- a/Objects/floatobject.c
+++ b/Objects/floatobject.c
@@ -1999,8 +1999,9 @@
 
     /* Init float info */
     if (FloatInfoType.tp_name == NULL) {
-        if (PyStructSequence_InitType2(&FloatInfoType, &floatinfo_desc) < 0)
+        if (PyStructSequence_InitType2(&FloatInfoType, &floatinfo_desc) < 0) {
             return 0;
+        }
     }
     return 1;
 }
diff --git a/Objects/longobject.c b/Objects/longobject.c
index f42683e..3c98385 100644
--- a/Objects/longobject.c
+++ b/Objects/longobject.c
@@ -5635,8 +5635,9 @@
 
     /* initialize int_info */
     if (Int_InfoType.tp_name == NULL) {
-        if (PyStructSequence_InitType2(&Int_InfoType, &int_info_desc) < 0)
+        if (PyStructSequence_InitType2(&Int_InfoType, &int_info_desc) < 0) {
             return 0;
+        }
     }
 
     return 1;
diff --git a/Objects/object.c b/Objects/object.c
index 6c2bd77..2171d53 100644
--- a/Objects/object.c
+++ b/Objects/object.c
@@ -1716,200 +1716,83 @@
     1, &_PyNotImplemented_Type
 };
 
-void
+_PyInitError
 _Py_ReadyTypes(void)
 {
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyBaseObject_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize object type");
+#define INIT_TYPE(TYPE, NAME) \
+    do { \
+        if (PyType_Ready(TYPE) < 0) { \
+            return _Py_INIT_ERR("Can't initialize " NAME " type"); \
+        } \
+    } while (0)
 
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyType_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize type type");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyBaseObject_Type, "object");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyType_Type, "type");
+    INIT_TYPE(&_PyWeakref_RefType, "weakref");
+    INIT_TYPE(&_PyWeakref_CallableProxyType, "callable weakref proxy");
+    INIT_TYPE(&_PyWeakref_ProxyType, "weakref proxy");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyLong_Type, "int");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyBool_Type, "bool");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyByteArray_Type, "bytearray");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyBytes_Type, "str");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyList_Type, "list");
+    INIT_TYPE(&_PyNone_Type, "None");
+    INIT_TYPE(&_PyNotImplemented_Type, "NotImplemented");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyTraceBack_Type, "traceback");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PySuper_Type, "super");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyRange_Type, "range");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyDict_Type, "dict");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyDictKeys_Type, "dict keys");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyDictValues_Type, "dict values");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyDictItems_Type, "dict items");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyDictRevIterKey_Type, "reversed dict keys");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyDictRevIterValue_Type, "reversed dict values");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyDictRevIterItem_Type, "reversed dict items");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyODict_Type, "OrderedDict");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyODictKeys_Type, "odict_keys");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyODictItems_Type, "odict_items");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyODictValues_Type, "odict_values");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyODictIter_Type, "odict_keyiterator");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PySet_Type, "set");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyUnicode_Type, "str");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PySlice_Type, "slice");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyStaticMethod_Type, "static method");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyComplex_Type, "complex");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyFloat_Type, "float");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyFrozenSet_Type, "frozenset");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyProperty_Type, "property");
+    INIT_TYPE(&_PyManagedBuffer_Type, "managed buffer");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyMemoryView_Type, "memoryview");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyTuple_Type, "tuple");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyEnum_Type, "enumerate");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyReversed_Type, "reversed");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyStdPrinter_Type, "StdPrinter");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyCode_Type, "code");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyFrame_Type, "frame");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyCFunction_Type, "builtin function");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyMethod_Type, "method");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyFunction_Type, "function");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyDictProxy_Type, "dict proxy");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyGen_Type, "generator");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyGetSetDescr_Type, "get-set descriptor");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyWrapperDescr_Type, "wrapper");
+    INIT_TYPE(&_PyMethodWrapper_Type, "method wrapper");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyEllipsis_Type, "ellipsis");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyMemberDescr_Type, "member descriptor");
+    INIT_TYPE(&_PyNamespace_Type, "namespace");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyCapsule_Type, "capsule");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyLongRangeIter_Type, "long range iterator");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyCell_Type, "cell");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyInstanceMethod_Type, "instance method");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyClassMethodDescr_Type, "class method descr");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyMethodDescr_Type, "method descr");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyCallIter_Type, "call iter");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PySeqIter_Type, "sequence iterator");
+    INIT_TYPE(&PyCoro_Type, "coroutine");
+    INIT_TYPE(&_PyCoroWrapper_Type, "coroutine wrapper");
+    return _Py_INIT_OK();
 
-    if (PyType_Ready(&_PyWeakref_RefType) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize weakref type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&_PyWeakref_CallableProxyType) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize callable weakref proxy type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&_PyWeakref_ProxyType) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize weakref proxy type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyLong_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize int type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyBool_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize bool type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyByteArray_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize bytearray type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyBytes_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize 'str'");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyList_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize list type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&_PyNone_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize None type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&_PyNotImplemented_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize NotImplemented type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyTraceBack_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize traceback type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PySuper_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize super type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyRange_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize range type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyDict_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize dict type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyDictKeys_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize dict keys type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyDictValues_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize dict values type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyDictItems_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize dict items type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyDictRevIterKey_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize reversed dict keys type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyDictRevIterValue_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize reversed dict values type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyDictRevIterItem_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize reversed dict items type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyODict_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize OrderedDict type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyODictKeys_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize odict_keys type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyODictItems_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize odict_items type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyODictValues_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize odict_values type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyODictIter_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize odict_keyiterator type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PySet_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize set type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyUnicode_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize str type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PySlice_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize slice type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyStaticMethod_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize static method type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyComplex_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize complex type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyFloat_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize float type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyFrozenSet_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize frozenset type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyProperty_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize property type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&_PyManagedBuffer_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize managed buffer type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyMemoryView_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize memoryview type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyTuple_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize tuple type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyEnum_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize enumerate type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyReversed_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize reversed type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyStdPrinter_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize StdPrinter");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyCode_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize code type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyFrame_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize frame type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyCFunction_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize builtin function type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyMethod_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize method type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyFunction_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize function type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyDictProxy_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize dict proxy type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyGen_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize generator type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyGetSetDescr_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize get-set descriptor type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyWrapperDescr_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize wrapper type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&_PyMethodWrapper_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize method wrapper type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyEllipsis_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize ellipsis type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyMemberDescr_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize member descriptor type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&_PyNamespace_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize namespace type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyCapsule_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize capsule type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyLongRangeIter_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize long range iterator type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyCell_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize cell type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyInstanceMethod_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize instance method type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyClassMethodDescr_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize class method descr type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyMethodDescr_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize method descr type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyCallIter_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize call iter type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PySeqIter_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize sequence iterator type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&PyCoro_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize coroutine type");
-
-    if (PyType_Ready(&_PyCoroWrapper_Type) < 0)
-        Py_FatalError("Can't initialize coroutine wrapper type");
+#undef INIT_TYPE
 }
 
 
diff --git a/Objects/unicodeobject.c b/Objects/unicodeobject.c
index ea7bcab..8141ce7 100644
--- a/Objects/unicodeobject.c
+++ b/Objects/unicodeobject.c
@@ -15239,7 +15239,6 @@
     if (PyType_Ready(&PyFormatterIter_Type) < 0) {
         return _Py_INIT_ERR("Can't initialize formatter iter type");
     }
-
     return _Py_INIT_OK();
 }
 
diff --git a/Python/pylifecycle.c b/Python/pylifecycle.c
index f0e00ea..86d87fb 100644
--- a/Python/pylifecycle.c
+++ b/Python/pylifecycle.c
@@ -464,9 +464,22 @@
 */
 
 static _PyInitError
-_Py_Initialize_ReconfigureCore(PyInterpreterState *interp,
+_Py_Initialize_ReconfigureCore(PyInterpreterState **interp_p,
                                const _PyCoreConfig *core_config)
 {
+    PyThreadState *tstate = _PyThreadState_GET();
+    if (!tstate) {
+        return _Py_INIT_ERR("failed to read thread state");
+    }
+
+    PyInterpreterState *interp = tstate->interp;
+    if (interp == NULL) {
+        return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't make main interpreter");
+    }
+    *interp_p = interp;
+
+    /* bpo-34008: For backward compatibility reasons, calling Py_Main() after
+       Py_Initialize() ignores the new configuration. */
     if (core_config->allocator != NULL) {
         const char *allocator = _PyMem_GetAllocatorsName();
         if (allocator == NULL || strcmp(core_config->allocator, allocator) != 0) {
@@ -492,57 +505,16 @@
 }
 
 
-/* Begin interpreter initialization
- *
- * On return, the first thread and interpreter state have been created,
- * but the compiler, signal handling, multithreading and
- * multiple interpreter support, and codec infrastructure are not yet
- * available.
- *
- * The import system will support builtin and frozen modules only.
- * The only supported io is writing to sys.stderr
- *
- * If any operation invoked by this function fails, a fatal error is
- * issued and the function does not return.
- *
- * Any code invoked from this function should *not* assume it has access
- * to the Python C API (unless the API is explicitly listed as being
- * safe to call without calling Py_Initialize first)
- *
- * The caller is responsible to call _PyCoreConfig_Read().
- */
-
 static _PyInitError
-_Py_InitializeCore_impl(PyInterpreterState **interp_p,
-                        const _PyCoreConfig *core_config)
+pycore_init_runtime(const _PyCoreConfig *core_config)
 {
-    PyInterpreterState *interp;
-    _PyInitError err;
-
-    /* bpo-34008: For backward compatibility reasons, calling Py_Main() after
-       Py_Initialize() ignores the new configuration. */
-    if (_PyRuntime.core_initialized) {
-        PyThreadState *tstate = _PyThreadState_GET();
-        if (!tstate) {
-            return _Py_INIT_ERR("failed to read thread state");
-        }
-
-        interp = tstate->interp;
-        if (interp == NULL) {
-            return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't make main interpreter");
-        }
-        *interp_p = interp;
-
-        return _Py_Initialize_ReconfigureCore(interp, core_config);
-    }
-
     if (_PyRuntime.initialized) {
         return _Py_INIT_ERR("main interpreter already initialized");
     }
 
     _PyCoreConfig_SetGlobalConfig(core_config);
 
-    err = _PyRuntime_Initialize();
+    _PyInitError err = _PyRuntime_Initialize();
     if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
         return err;
     }
@@ -573,8 +545,15 @@
     if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
         return err;
     }
+    return _Py_INIT_OK();
+}
 
-    interp = PyInterpreterState_New();
+
+static _PyInitError
+pycore_create_interpreter(const _PyCoreConfig *core_config,
+                          PyInterpreterState **interp_p)
+{
+    PyInterpreterState *interp = PyInterpreterState_New();
     if (interp == NULL) {
         return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't make main interpreter");
     }
@@ -603,24 +582,61 @@
     /* Create the GIL */
     PyEval_InitThreads();
 
-    _Py_ReadyTypes();
+    return _Py_INIT_OK();
+}
 
-    if (!_PyLong_Init())
+
+static _PyInitError
+pycore_init_types(void)
+{
+    _PyInitError err = _Py_ReadyTypes();
+    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+        return err;
+    }
+
+    err = _PyUnicode_Init();
+    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+        return err;
+    }
+
+    if (_PyStructSequence_Init() < 0) {
+        return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't initialize structseq");
+    }
+
+    if (!_PyLong_Init()) {
         return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't init longs");
+    }
 
-    if (!_PyFloat_Init())
+    err = _PyExc_Init();
+    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+        return err;
+    }
+
+    if (!_PyFloat_Init()) {
         return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't init float");
+    }
 
+    if (!_PyContext_Init()) {
+        return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't init context");
+    }
+    return _Py_INIT_OK();
+}
+
+
+static _PyInitError
+pycore_init_sys(PyInterpreterState *interp, PyObject **sysmod_p)
+{
     PyObject *modules = PyDict_New();
     if (modules == NULL)
         return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't make modules dictionary");
     interp->modules = modules;
 
     PyObject *sysmod;
-    err = _PySys_BeginInit(&sysmod);
+    _PyInitError err = _PySys_BeginInit(&sysmod);
     if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
         return err;
     }
+    *sysmod_p = sysmod;
 
     interp->sysdict = PyModule_GetDict(sysmod);
     if (interp->sysdict == NULL) {
@@ -631,39 +647,49 @@
     PyDict_SetItemString(interp->sysdict, "modules", modules);
     _PyImport_FixupBuiltin(sysmod, "sys", modules);
 
-    err = _PyUnicode_Init();
-    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
-        return err;
-    }
-
-    if (_PyStructSequence_Init() < 0)
-        return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't initialize structseq");
-
-    PyObject *bimod = _PyBuiltin_Init();
-    if (bimod == NULL)
-        return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't initialize builtins modules");
-    _PyImport_FixupBuiltin(bimod, "builtins", modules);
-    interp->builtins = PyModule_GetDict(bimod);
-    if (interp->builtins == NULL)
-        return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't initialize builtins dict");
-    Py_INCREF(interp->builtins);
-
-    /* initialize builtin exceptions */
-    err = _PyExc_Init(bimod);
-    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
-        return err;
-    }
-
     /* Set up a preliminary stderr printer until we have enough
-       infrastructure for the io module in place. */
+       infrastructure for the io module in place.
+
+       Use UTF-8/surrogateescape and ignore EAGAIN errors. */
     PyObject *pstderr = PyFile_NewStdPrinter(fileno(stderr));
-    if (pstderr == NULL)
+    if (pstderr == NULL) {
         return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't set preliminary stderr");
+    }
     _PySys_SetObjectId(&PyId_stderr, pstderr);
     PySys_SetObject("__stderr__", pstderr);
     Py_DECREF(pstderr);
 
-    err = _PyImport_Init(interp);
+    return _Py_INIT_OK();
+}
+
+
+static _PyInitError
+pycore_init_builtins(PyInterpreterState *interp)
+{
+    PyObject *bimod = _PyBuiltin_Init();
+    if (bimod == NULL) {
+        return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't initialize builtins modules");
+    }
+    _PyImport_FixupBuiltin(bimod, "builtins", interp->modules);
+
+    interp->builtins = PyModule_GetDict(bimod);
+    if (interp->builtins == NULL) {
+        return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't initialize builtins dict");
+    }
+    Py_INCREF(interp->builtins);
+
+    _PyInitError err = _PyBuiltins_AddExceptions(bimod);
+    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+        return err;
+    }
+    return _Py_INIT_OK();
+}
+
+
+static _PyInitError
+pycore_init_import_warnings(PyInterpreterState *interp, PyObject *sysmod)
+{
+    _PyInitError err = _PyImport_Init(interp);
     if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
         return err;
     }
@@ -678,29 +704,85 @@
         return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't initialize warnings");
     }
 
-    if (!_PyContext_Init())
-        return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't init context");
-
-    if (core_config->_install_importlib) {
-        err = _PyCoreConfig_SetPathConfig(core_config);
+    if (interp->core_config._install_importlib) {
+        err = _PyCoreConfig_SetPathConfig(&interp->core_config);
         if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
             return err;
         }
     }
 
     /* This call sets up builtin and frozen import support */
-    if (core_config->_install_importlib) {
+    if (interp->core_config._install_importlib) {
         err = initimport(interp, sysmod);
         if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
             return err;
         }
     }
+    return _Py_INIT_OK();
+}
+
+
+static _PyInitError
+_Py_InitializeCore_impl(PyInterpreterState **interp_p,
+                        const _PyCoreConfig *core_config)
+{
+    PyInterpreterState *interp;
+
+    _PyInitError err = pycore_init_runtime(core_config);
+    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+        return err;
+    }
+
+    err = pycore_create_interpreter(core_config, &interp);
+    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+        return err;
+    }
+    core_config = &interp->core_config;
+    *interp_p = interp;
+
+    err = pycore_init_types();
+    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+        return err;
+    }
+
+    PyObject *sysmod;
+    err = pycore_init_sys(interp, &sysmod);
+    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+        return err;
+    }
+
+    err = pycore_init_builtins(interp);
+    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+        return err;
+    }
+
+    err = pycore_init_import_warnings(interp, sysmod);
+    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+        return err;
+    }
 
     /* Only when we get here is the runtime core fully initialized */
     _PyRuntime.core_initialized = 1;
     return _Py_INIT_OK();
 }
 
+/* Begin interpreter initialization
+ *
+ * On return, the first thread and interpreter state have been created,
+ * but the compiler, signal handling, multithreading and
+ * multiple interpreter support, and codec infrastructure are not yet
+ * available.
+ *
+ * The import system will support builtin and frozen modules only.
+ * The only supported io is writing to sys.stderr
+ *
+ * If any operation invoked by this function fails, a fatal error is
+ * issued and the function does not return.
+ *
+ * Any code invoked from this function should *not* assume it has access
+ * to the Python C API (unless the API is explicitly listed as being
+ * safe to call without calling Py_Initialize first)
+ */
 _PyInitError
 _Py_InitializeCore(PyInterpreterState **interp_p,
                    const _PyCoreConfig *src_config)
@@ -730,7 +812,12 @@
         goto done;
     }
 
-    err = _Py_InitializeCore_impl(interp_p, &config);
+    if (!_PyRuntime.core_initialized) {
+        err = _Py_InitializeCore_impl(interp_p, &config);
+    }
+    else {
+        err = _Py_Initialize_ReconfigureCore(interp_p, &config);
+    }
 
 done:
     _PyMem_SetDefaultAllocator(PYMEM_DOMAIN_RAW, &old_alloc);
@@ -1270,6 +1357,11 @@
         return _Py_INIT_ERR("failed to copy main interpreter config");
     }
 
+    err = _PyExc_Init();
+    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+        return err;
+    }
+
     /* XXX The following is lax in error checking */
     PyObject *modules = PyDict_New();
     if (modules == NULL) {
@@ -1301,18 +1393,15 @@
         goto handle_error;
     }
 
-    /* initialize builtin exceptions */
-    err = _PyExc_Init(bimod);
-    if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
-        return err;
-    }
-
     if (bimod != NULL && sysmod != NULL) {
-        PyObject *pstderr;
+        err = _PyBuiltins_AddExceptions(bimod);
+        if (_Py_INIT_FAILED(err)) {
+            return err;
+        }
 
         /* Set up a preliminary stderr printer until we have enough
            infrastructure for the io module in place. */
-        pstderr = PyFile_NewStdPrinter(fileno(stderr));
+        PyObject *pstderr = PyFile_NewStdPrinter(fileno(stderr));
         if (pstderr == NULL) {
             return _Py_INIT_ERR("can't set preliminary stderr");
         }