diff --git a/Doc/library/shutil.rst b/Doc/library/shutil.rst
index f559ca0..ca01b93 100644
--- a/Doc/library/shutil.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/shutil.rst
@@ -458,6 +458,10 @@
 
 .. versionadded:: 3.2
 
+.. versionchanged:: 3.5
+    Added support for the *xztar* format.
+
+
 High-level utilities to create and read compressed and archived files are also
 provided.  They rely on the :mod:`zipfile` and :mod:`tarfile` modules.
 
@@ -467,8 +471,9 @@
 
    *base_name* is the name of the file to create, including the path, minus
    any format-specific extension. *format* is the archive format: one of
-   "zip", "tar", "bztar" (if the :mod:`bz2` module is available), "xztar"
-   (if the :mod:`lzma` module is available) or "gztar".
+   "zip" (if the :mod:`zlib` module is available), "tar", "gztar" (if the
+   :mod:`zlib` module is available), "bztar" (if the :mod:`bz2` module is
+   available), or "xztar" (if the :mod:`lzma` module is available).
 
    *root_dir* is a directory that will be the root directory of the
    archive; for example, we typically chdir into *root_dir* before creating the
@@ -491,9 +496,6 @@
 
    The *verbose* argument is unused and deprecated.
 
-   .. versionchanged:: 3.5
-      Added support for the *xztar* format.
-
 
 .. function:: get_archive_formats()
 
@@ -502,11 +504,11 @@
 
    By default :mod:`shutil` provides these formats:
 
-   - *gztar*: gzip'ed tar-file
-   - *bztar*: bzip2'ed tar-file (if the :mod:`bz2` module is available.)
-   - *xztar*: xz'ed tar-file (if the :mod:`lzma` module is available.)
-   - *tar*: uncompressed tar file
-   - *zip*: ZIP file
+   - *zip*: ZIP file (if the :mod:`zlib` module is available).
+   - *tar*: uncompressed tar file.
+   - *gztar*: gzip'ed tar-file (if the :mod:`zlib` module is available).
+   - *bztar*: bzip2'ed tar-file (if the :mod:`bz2` module is available).
+   - *xztar*: xz'ed tar-file (if the :mod:`lzma` module is available).
 
    You can register new formats or provide your own archiver for any existing
    formats, by using :func:`register_archive_format`.
@@ -541,11 +543,12 @@
    *extract_dir* is the name of the target directory where the archive is
    unpacked. If not provided, the current working directory is used.
 
-   *format* is the archive format: one of "zip", "tar", or "gztar". Or any
-   other format registered with :func:`register_unpack_format`. If not
-   provided, :func:`unpack_archive` will use the archive file name extension
-   and see if an unpacker was registered for that extension. In case none is
-   found, a :exc:`ValueError` is raised.
+   *format* is the archive format: one of "zip", "tar", "gztar", "bztar", or
+   "xztar".  Or any other format registered with
+   :func:`register_unpack_format`.  If not provided, :func:`unpack_archive`
+   will use the archive file name extension and see if an unpacker was
+   registered for that extension.  In case none is found,
+   a :exc:`ValueError` is raised.
 
 
 .. function:: register_unpack_format(name, extensions, function[, extra_args[, description]])
@@ -578,11 +581,12 @@
 
    By default :mod:`shutil` provides these formats:
 
-   - *gztar*: gzip'ed tar-file
-   - *bztar*: bzip2'ed tar-file (if the :mod:`bz2` module is available.)
-   - *xztar*: xz'ed tar-file (if the :mod:`lzma` module is available.)
-   - *tar*: uncompressed tar file
-   - *zip*: ZIP file
+   - *zip*: ZIP file (unpacking compressed files works only if corresponding
+     module is available).
+   - *tar*: uncompressed tar file.
+   - *gztar*: gzip'ed tar-file (if the :mod:`zlib` module is available).
+   - *bztar*: bzip2'ed tar-file (if the :mod:`bz2` module is available).
+   - *xztar*: xz'ed tar-file (if the :mod:`lzma` module is available).
 
    You can register new formats or provide your own unpacker for any existing
    formats, by using :func:`register_unpack_format`.
diff --git a/Lib/shutil.py b/Lib/shutil.py
index 90b7198..bd4760f 100644
--- a/Lib/shutil.py
+++ b/Lib/shutil.py
@@ -10,7 +10,13 @@
 import fnmatch
 import collections
 import errno
-import tarfile
+
+try:
+    import zlib
+    del zlib
+    _ZLIB_SUPPORTED = True
+except ImportError:
+    _ZLIB_SUPPORTED = False
 
 try:
     import bz2
@@ -602,23 +608,22 @@
 
     Returns the output filename.
     """
-    tar_compression = {'gzip': 'gz', None: ''}
-    compress_ext = {'gzip': '.gz'}
-
-    if _BZ2_SUPPORTED:
-        tar_compression['bzip2'] = 'bz2'
-        compress_ext['bzip2'] = '.bz2'
-
-    if _LZMA_SUPPORTED:
-        tar_compression['xz'] = 'xz'
-        compress_ext['xz'] = '.xz'
-
-    # flags for compression program, each element of list will be an argument
-    if compress is not None and compress not in compress_ext:
+    if compress is None:
+        tar_compression = ''
+    elif _ZLIB_SUPPORTED and compress == 'gzip':
+        tar_compression = 'gz'
+    elif _BZ2_SUPPORTED and compress == 'bzip2':
+        tar_compression = 'bz2'
+    elif _LZMA_SUPPORTED and compress == 'xz':
+        tar_compression = 'xz'
+    else:
         raise ValueError("bad value for 'compress', or compression format not "
                          "supported : {0}".format(compress))
 
-    archive_name = base_name + '.tar' + compress_ext.get(compress, '')
+    import tarfile  # late import for breaking circular dependency
+
+    compress_ext = '.' + tar_compression if compress else ''
+    archive_name = base_name + '.tar' + compress_ext
     archive_dir = os.path.dirname(archive_name)
 
     if archive_dir and not os.path.exists(archive_dir):
@@ -644,7 +649,7 @@
         return tarinfo
 
     if not dry_run:
-        tar = tarfile.open(archive_name, 'w|%s' % tar_compression[compress])
+        tar = tarfile.open(archive_name, 'w|%s' % tar_compression)
         try:
             tar.add(base_dir, filter=_set_uid_gid)
         finally:
@@ -655,13 +660,10 @@
 def _make_zipfile(base_name, base_dir, verbose=0, dry_run=0, logger=None):
     """Create a zip file from all the files under 'base_dir'.
 
-    The output zip file will be named 'base_name' + ".zip".  Uses either the
-    "zipfile" Python module (if available) or the InfoZIP "zip" utility
-    (if installed and found on the default search path).  If neither tool is
-    available, raises ExecError.  Returns the name of the output zip
-    file.
+    The output zip file will be named 'base_name' + ".zip".  Returns the
+    name of the output zip file.
     """
-    import zipfile
+    import zipfile  # late import for breaking circular dependency
 
     zip_filename = base_name + ".zip"
     archive_dir = os.path.dirname(base_name)
@@ -700,10 +702,13 @@
     return zip_filename
 
 _ARCHIVE_FORMATS = {
-    'gztar': (_make_tarball, [('compress', 'gzip')], "gzip'ed tar-file"),
     'tar':   (_make_tarball, [('compress', None)], "uncompressed tar file"),
-    'zip':   (_make_zipfile, [], "ZIP file")
-    }
+}
+
+if _ZLIB_SUPPORTED:
+    _ARCHIVE_FORMATS['gztar'] = (_make_tarball, [('compress', 'gzip')],
+                                "gzip'ed tar-file")
+    _ARCHIVE_FORMATS['zip'] = (_make_zipfile, [], "ZIP file")
 
 if _BZ2_SUPPORTED:
     _ARCHIVE_FORMATS['bztar'] = (_make_tarball, [('compress', 'bzip2')],
@@ -752,8 +757,8 @@
     """Create an archive file (eg. zip or tar).
 
     'base_name' is the name of the file to create, minus any format-specific
-    extension; 'format' is the archive format: one of "zip", "tar", "bztar"
-    or "gztar".
+    extension; 'format' is the archive format: one of "zip", "tar", "gztar",
+    "bztar", or "xztar".  Or any other registered format.
 
     'root_dir' is a directory that will be the root directory of the
     archive; ie. we typically chdir into 'root_dir' before creating the
@@ -866,10 +871,7 @@
 def _unpack_zipfile(filename, extract_dir):
     """Unpack zip `filename` to `extract_dir`
     """
-    try:
-        import zipfile
-    except ImportError:
-        raise ReadError('zlib not supported, cannot unpack this archive.')
+    import zipfile  # late import for breaking circular dependency
 
     if not zipfile.is_zipfile(filename):
         raise ReadError("%s is not a zip file" % filename)
@@ -903,6 +905,7 @@
 def _unpack_tarfile(filename, extract_dir):
     """Unpack tar/tar.gz/tar.bz2/tar.xz `filename` to `extract_dir`
     """
+    import tarfile  # late import for breaking circular dependency
     try:
         tarobj = tarfile.open(filename)
     except tarfile.TarError:
@@ -914,10 +917,13 @@
         tarobj.close()
 
 _UNPACK_FORMATS = {
-    'gztar': (['.tar.gz', '.tgz'], _unpack_tarfile, [], "gzip'ed tar-file"),
     'tar':   (['.tar'], _unpack_tarfile, [], "uncompressed tar file"),
-    'zip':   (['.zip'], _unpack_zipfile, [], "ZIP file")
-    }
+    'zip':   (['.zip'], _unpack_zipfile, [], "ZIP file"),
+}
+
+if _ZLIB_SUPPORTED:
+    _UNPACK_FORMATS['gztar'] = (['.tar.gz', '.tgz'], _unpack_tarfile, [],
+                                "gzip'ed tar-file")
 
 if _BZ2_SUPPORTED:
     _UNPACK_FORMATS['bztar'] = (['.tar.bz2', '.tbz2'], _unpack_tarfile, [],
@@ -942,10 +948,10 @@
     `extract_dir` is the name of the target directory, where the archive
     is unpacked. If not provided, the current working directory is used.
 
-    `format` is the archive format: one of "zip", "tar", or "gztar". Or any
-    other registered format. If not provided, unpack_archive will use the
-    filename extension and see if an unpacker was registered for that
-    extension.
+    `format` is the archive format: one of "zip", "tar", "gztar", "bztar",
+    or "xztar".  Or any other registered format.  If not provided,
+    unpack_archive will use the filename extension and see if an unpacker
+    was registered for that extension.
 
     In case none is found, a ValueError is raised.
     """
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_shutil.py b/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
index 46e2c57..2ad3a21 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_shutil.py
@@ -19,23 +19,12 @@
                     unregister_unpack_format, get_unpack_formats,
                     SameFileError)
 import tarfile
+import zipfile
 import warnings
 
 from test import support
 from test.support import (TESTFN, check_warnings, captured_stdout,
-                          requires_zlib, android_not_root)
-
-try:
-    import bz2
-    BZ2_SUPPORTED = True
-except ImportError:
-    BZ2_SUPPORTED = False
-
-try:
-    import lzma
-    LZMA_SUPPORTED = True
-except ImportError:
-    LZMA_SUPPORTED = False
+                          android_not_root)
 
 TESTFN2 = TESTFN + "2"
 
@@ -46,12 +35,6 @@
 except ImportError:
     UID_GID_SUPPORT = False
 
-try:
-    import zipfile
-    ZIP_SUPPORT = True
-except ImportError:
-    ZIP_SUPPORT = shutil.which('zip')
-
 def _fake_rename(*args, **kwargs):
     # Pretend the destination path is on a different filesystem.
     raise OSError(getattr(errno, 'EXDEV', 18), "Invalid cross-device link")
@@ -966,7 +949,7 @@
             self.assertEqual(getattr(file1_stat, 'st_flags'),
                              getattr(file2_stat, 'st_flags'))
 
-    @requires_zlib
+    @support.requires_zlib
     def test_make_tarball(self):
         # creating something to tar
         root_dir, base_dir = self._create_files('')
@@ -1022,7 +1005,7 @@
             write_file((root_dir, 'outer'), 'xxx')
         return root_dir, base_dir
 
-    @requires_zlib
+    @support.requires_zlib
     @unittest.skipUnless(shutil.which('tar'),
                          'Need the tar command to run')
     def test_tarfile_vs_tar(self):
@@ -1055,8 +1038,7 @@
         self.assertEqual(tarball, base_name + '.tar')
         self.assertTrue(os.path.isfile(tarball))
 
-    @requires_zlib
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZIP_SUPPORT, 'Need zip support to run')
+    @support.requires_zlib
     def test_make_zipfile(self):
         # creating something to zip
         root_dir, base_dir = self._create_files()
@@ -1093,8 +1075,7 @@
                     ['dist/', 'dist/sub/', 'dist/sub2/',
                      'dist/file1', 'dist/file2', 'dist/sub/file3'])
 
-    @requires_zlib
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZIP_SUPPORT, 'Need zip support to run')
+    @support.requires_zlib
     @unittest.skipUnless(shutil.which('zip'),
                          'Need the zip command to run')
     def test_zipfile_vs_zip(self):
@@ -1120,8 +1101,7 @@
             names2 = zf.namelist()
         self.assertEqual(sorted(names), sorted(names2))
 
-    @requires_zlib
-    @unittest.skipUnless(ZIP_SUPPORT, 'Need zip support to run')
+    @support.requires_zlib
     @unittest.skipUnless(shutil.which('unzip'),
                          'Need the unzip command to run')
     def test_unzip_zipfile(self):
@@ -1148,7 +1128,7 @@
         base_name = os.path.join(tmpdir, 'archive')
         self.assertRaises(ValueError, make_archive, base_name, 'xxx')
 
-    @requires_zlib
+    @support.requires_zlib
     def test_make_archive_owner_group(self):
         # testing make_archive with owner and group, with various combinations
         # this works even if there's not gid/uid support
@@ -1176,7 +1156,7 @@
         self.assertTrue(os.path.isfile(res))
 
 
-    @requires_zlib
+    @support.requires_zlib
     @unittest.skipUnless(UID_GID_SUPPORT, "Requires grp and pwd support")
     def test_tarfile_root_owner(self):
         root_dir, base_dir = self._create_files()
@@ -1221,7 +1201,7 @@
             self.assertEqual(make_archive('test', 'tar'), 'test.tar')
             self.assertTrue(os.path.isfile('test.tar'))
 
-    @requires_zlib
+    @support.requires_zlib
     def test_make_zipfile_in_curdir(self):
         # Issue #21280
         root_dir = self.mkdtemp()
@@ -1245,33 +1225,46 @@
         formats = [name for name, params in get_archive_formats()]
         self.assertNotIn('xxx', formats)
 
-    @requires_zlib
-    def test_unpack_archive(self):
-        formats = ['tar', 'gztar', 'zip']
-        if BZ2_SUPPORTED:
-            formats.append('bztar')
-        if LZMA_SUPPORTED:
-            formats.append('xztar')
-
+    def check_unpack_archive(self, format):
         root_dir, base_dir = self._create_files()
         expected = rlistdir(root_dir)
         expected.remove('outer')
-        for format in formats:
-            base_name = os.path.join(self.mkdtemp(), 'archive')
-            filename = make_archive(base_name, format, root_dir, base_dir)
 
-            # let's try to unpack it now
-            tmpdir2 = self.mkdtemp()
-            unpack_archive(filename, tmpdir2)
-            self.assertEqual(rlistdir(tmpdir2), expected)
+        base_name = os.path.join(self.mkdtemp(), 'archive')
+        filename = make_archive(base_name, format, root_dir, base_dir)
 
-            # and again, this time with the format specified
-            tmpdir3 = self.mkdtemp()
-            unpack_archive(filename, tmpdir3, format=format)
-            self.assertEqual(rlistdir(tmpdir3), expected)
+        # let's try to unpack it now
+        tmpdir2 = self.mkdtemp()
+        unpack_archive(filename, tmpdir2)
+        self.assertEqual(rlistdir(tmpdir2), expected)
+
+        # and again, this time with the format specified
+        tmpdir3 = self.mkdtemp()
+        unpack_archive(filename, tmpdir3, format=format)
+        self.assertEqual(rlistdir(tmpdir3), expected)
+
         self.assertRaises(shutil.ReadError, unpack_archive, TESTFN)
         self.assertRaises(ValueError, unpack_archive, TESTFN, format='xxx')
 
+    def test_unpack_archive_tar(self):
+        self.check_unpack_archive('tar')
+
+    @support.requires_zlib
+    def test_unpack_archive_gztar(self):
+        self.check_unpack_archive('gztar')
+
+    @support.requires_bz2
+    def test_unpack_archive_bztar(self):
+        self.check_unpack_archive('bztar')
+
+    @support.requires_lzma
+    def test_unpack_archive_xztar(self):
+        self.check_unpack_archive('xztar')
+
+    @support.requires_zlib
+    def test_unpack_archive_zip(self):
+        self.check_unpack_archive('zip')
+
     def test_unpack_registry(self):
 
         formats = get_unpack_formats()