diff --git a/generator/borders_loader.cpp b/generator/borders_loader.cpp
index 698562883b..ea3ca96a1b 100644
--- a/generator/borders_loader.cpp
+++ b/generator/borders_loader.cpp
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ void UnpackBorders(std::string const & baseDir, std::string const & targetDir)
 {
   Platform & platform = GetPlatform();
   if (!Platform::IsFileExistsByFullPath(targetDir))
-    platform.MkDir(targetDir);
+    Platform::MkDir(targetDir);
 
   std::vector<storage::CountryDef> countries;
   FilesContainerR reader(my::JoinFoldersToPath(baseDir, PACKED_POLYGONS_FILE));
diff --git a/generator/generator_tool/generator_tool.cpp b/generator/generator_tool/generator_tool.cpp
index da042debd6..b672da6415 100644
--- a/generator/generator_tool/generator_tool.cpp
+++ b/generator/generator_tool/generator_tool.cpp
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ int main(int argc, char ** argv)
   if (!FLAGS_intermediate_data_path.empty())
   {
     std::string const tmpPath = genInfo.m_intermediateDir + "tmp" + my::GetNativeSeparator();
-    if (pl.MkDir(tmpPath) != Platform::ERR_UNKNOWN)
+    if (Platform::MkDir(tmpPath) != Platform::ERR_UNKNOWN)
       genInfo.m_tmpDir = tmpPath;
   }
 
diff --git a/local_ads/statistics.cpp b/local_ads/statistics.cpp
index 63f042f444..2729181c00 100644
--- a/local_ads/statistics.cpp
+++ b/local_ads/statistics.cpp
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ void CreateDirIfNotExist()
 {
   std::string const statsFolder = StatisticsFolder();
   if (!GetPlatform().IsFileExistsByFullPath(statsFolder))
-    GetPlatform().MkDir(statsFolder);
+    Platform::MkDir(statsFolder);
 }
 
 std::string MakeRemoteURL(std::string const & userId, std::string const & name, int64_t version)
diff --git a/platform/local_country_file_utils.cpp b/platform/local_country_file_utils.cpp
index 0ab04f25e9..72d718230f 100644
--- a/platform/local_country_file_utils.cpp
+++ b/platform/local_country_file_utils.cpp
@@ -57,43 +57,6 @@ char const kOffsetsExt[] = ".offsets";
 
 size_t const kMaxTimestampLength = 18;
 
-bool GetFileTypeChecked(string const & path, Platform::EFileType & type)
-{
-  Platform::EError const ret = Platform::GetFileType(path, type);
-  if (ret != Platform::ERR_OK)
-  {
-    LOG(LERROR, ("Can't determine file type for", path, ":", ret));
-    return false;
-  }
-  return true;
-}
-
-bool MkDirChecked(string const & directory)
-{
-  Platform & platform = GetPlatform();
-  Platform::EError const ret = platform.MkDir(directory);
-  switch (ret)
-  {
-    case Platform::ERR_OK:
-      return true;
-    case Platform::ERR_FILE_ALREADY_EXISTS:
-    {
-      Platform::EFileType type;
-      if (!GetFileTypeChecked(directory, type))
-        return false;
-      if (type != Platform::FILE_TYPE_DIRECTORY)
-      {
-        LOG(LERROR, (directory, "exists, but not a directory:", type));
-        return false;
-      }
-      return true;
-    }
-    default:
-      LOG(LERROR, (directory, "can't be created:", ret));
-      return false;
-  }
-}
-
 string GetSpecialFilesSearchScope()
 {
 #if defined(OMIM_OS_ANDROID)
@@ -366,7 +329,7 @@ shared_ptr<LocalCountryFile> PreparePlaceForCountryFiles(int64_t version, string
   if (version == 0)
     return make_shared<LocalCountryFile>(dir, countryFile, version);
   string const directory = my::JoinFoldersToPath(dir, strings::to_string(version));
-  if (!MkDirChecked(directory))
+  if (!Platform::MkDirChecked(directory))
     return shared_ptr<LocalCountryFile>();
   return make_shared<LocalCountryFile>(directory, countryFile, version);
 }
@@ -402,7 +365,7 @@ unique_ptr<ModelReader> GetCountryReader(platform::LocalCountryFile const & file
 void CountryIndexes::PreparePlaceOnDisk(LocalCountryFile const & localFile)
 {
   string const dir = IndexesDir(localFile);
-  if (!MkDirChecked(dir))
+  if (!Platform::MkDirChecked(dir))
     MYTHROW(FileSystemException, ("Can't create directory", dir));
 }
 
@@ -480,7 +443,7 @@ string CountryIndexes::IndexesDir(LocalCountryFile const & localFile)
     ASSERT_GREATER(version, 0, ());
 
     dir = my::JoinFoldersToPath(GetPlatform().WritableDir(), strings::to_string(version));
-    if (!MkDirChecked(dir))
+    if (!Platform::MkDirChecked(dir))
       MYTHROW(FileSystemException, ("Can't create directory", dir));
   }
 
diff --git a/platform/platform.cpp b/platform/platform.cpp
index 7d8c303103..33a572340f 100644
--- a/platform/platform.cpp
+++ b/platform/platform.cpp
@@ -22,6 +22,17 @@ bool IsSpecialDirName(string const & dirName)
 {
   return dirName == "." || dirName == "..";
 }
+
+bool GetFileTypeChecked(string const & path, Platform::EFileType & type)
+{
+  Platform::EError const ret = Platform::GetFileType(path, type);
+  if (ret != Platform::ERR_OK)
+  {
+    LOG(LERROR, ("Can't determine file type for", path, ":", ret));
+    return false;
+  }
+  return true;
+}
 } // namespace
 
 // static
@@ -229,6 +240,29 @@ void Platform::SetResourceDir(string const & path)
   m_resourcesDir = my::AddSlashIfNeeded(path);
 }
 
+// static
+bool Platform::MkDirChecked(string const & dirName)
+{
+  Platform::EError const ret = MkDir(dirName);
+  switch (ret)
+  {
+  case Platform::ERR_OK: return true;
+  case Platform::ERR_FILE_ALREADY_EXISTS:
+  {
+    Platform::EFileType type;
+    if (!GetFileTypeChecked(dirName, type))
+      return false;
+    if (type != Platform::FILE_TYPE_DIRECTORY)
+    {
+      LOG(LERROR, (dirName, "exists, but not a dirName:", type));
+      return false;
+    }
+    return true;
+  }
+  default: LOG(LERROR, (dirName, "can't be created:", ret)); return false;
+  }
+}
+
 unsigned Platform::CpuCores() const
 {
   unsigned const cores = thread::hardware_concurrency();
diff --git a/platform/platform.hpp b/platform/platform.hpp
index 86b9b1ecfa..dd0eb2bd3b 100644
--- a/platform/platform.hpp
+++ b/platform/platform.hpp
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 #include "coding/reader.hpp"
 
 #include "base/exception.hpp"
+#include "base/macros.hpp"
 #include "base/task_loop.hpp"
 #include "base/worker_thread.hpp"
 
@@ -126,8 +127,12 @@ public:
   /// Client app should not replace default resource dir.
   void SetResourceDir(string const & path);
 
-  /// Creates directory at filesystem
-  EError MkDir(string const & dirName) const;
+  /// Creates directory in the filesystem.
+  static EError MkDir(string const & dirName);
+
+  /// Creates a directory. Returns true on success.
+  /// Returns false and logs the reason on failure.
+  WARN_UNUSED_RESULT static bool MkDirChecked(string const & dirName);
 
   /// Removes empty directory from the filesystem.
   static EError RmDir(string const & dirName);
diff --git a/platform/platform_android.cpp b/platform/platform_android.cpp
index f2783c2073..327e8fc871 100644
--- a/platform/platform_android.cpp
+++ b/platform/platform_android.cpp
@@ -243,7 +243,8 @@ bool Platform::GetFileSizeByName(string const & fileName, uint64_t & size) const
   }
 }
 
-Platform::EError Platform::MkDir(string const & dirName) const
+// static
+Platform::EError Platform::MkDir(string const & dirName)
 {
   if (0 != mkdir(dirName.c_str(), 0755))
     return ErrnoToError();
diff --git a/platform/platform_ios.mm b/platform/platform_ios.mm
index 093caf6d46..4654fc3a39 100644
--- a/platform/platform_ios.mm
+++ b/platform/platform_ios.mm
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ Platform::Platform()
 // static
 bool Platform::IsCustomTextureAllocatorSupported() { return !isIOS8; }
 
-Platform::EError Platform::MkDir(string const & dirName) const
+// static
+Platform::EError Platform::MkDir(string const & dirName)
 {
   if (::mkdir(dirName.c_str(), 0755))
     return ErrnoToError();
diff --git a/platform/platform_linux.cpp b/platform/platform_linux.cpp
index 0f2712bec3..bb92db9c5c 100644
--- a/platform/platform_linux.cpp
+++ b/platform/platform_linux.cpp
@@ -4,10 +4,13 @@
 #include "coding/file_reader.hpp"
 #include "coding/file_name_utils.hpp"
 
+#include "base/exception.hpp"
 #include "base/logging.hpp"
+#include "base/macros.hpp"
 #include "base/scope_guard.hpp"
 
 #include "std/bind.hpp"
+#include "std/string.hpp"
 
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
@@ -40,6 +43,28 @@ bool IsEulaExist(string const & directory)
 {
   return Platform::IsFileExistsByFullPath(my::JoinFoldersToPath(directory, "eula.html"));
 }
+
+string HomeDir()
+{
+  char const * homePath = ::getenv("HOME");
+  return homePath != nullptr ? string(homePath) : "";
+}
+
+// Returns the default path to the writable dir, creating the dir if needed.
+// An exception is thrown if the default dir is not already there and we were unable to create it.
+string DefaultWritableDir()
+{
+  auto const home = HomeDir();
+  string const result = my::JoinFoldersToPath({home, ".local", "share"}, "MapsWithMe");
+  if (!Platform::MkDirChecked(my::JoinFoldersToPath(home, ".local")) ||
+      !Platform::MkDirChecked(my::JoinFoldersToPath({home, ".local"}, "share")) ||
+      !Platform::MkDirChecked(result))
+  {
+    MYTHROW(FileSystemException, ("Can't create directory", result));
+  }
+
+  return result;
+}
 }  // namespace
 
 namespace platform
@@ -56,26 +81,28 @@ Platform::Platform()
   string path;
   CHECK(GetBinaryDir(path), ("Can't retrieve path to executable"));
 
-  char const * homePath = ::getenv("HOME");
-  string const home(homePath ? homePath : "");
-
-  m_settingsDir = my::JoinFoldersToPath({home, ".config"}, "MapsWithMe");
+  m_settingsDir = my::JoinFoldersToPath({HomeDir(), ".config"}, "MapsWithMe");
 
   if (!IsFileExistsByFullPath(my::JoinFoldersToPath(m_settingsDir, SETTINGS_FILE_NAME)))
   {
-    MkDir(my::JoinFoldersToPath(home, ".config"));
-    MkDir(m_settingsDir.c_str());
+    auto const configDir = my::JoinFoldersToPath(HomeDir(), ".config");
+    if (!MkDirChecked(configDir))
+      MYTHROW(FileSystemException, ("Can't create directory", configDir));
+    if (!MkDirChecked(m_settingsDir))
+      MYTHROW(FileSystemException, ("Can't create directory", m_settingsDir));
   }
 
-  m_writableDir = my::JoinFoldersToPath({home, ".local", "share"}, "MapsWithMe");
-  MkDir(my::JoinFoldersToPath(home, ".local"));
-  MkDir(my::JoinFoldersToPath({home, ".local"}, "share"));
-  MkDir(m_writableDir);
-
   char const * resDir = ::getenv("MWM_RESOURCES_DIR");
-  if (resDir)
+  char const * writableDir = ::getenv("MWM_WRITABLE_DIR");
+  if (resDir && writableDir)
   {
     m_resourcesDir = resDir;
+    m_writableDir = writableDir;
+  }
+  else if (resDir)
+  {
+    m_resourcesDir = resDir;
+    m_writableDir = DefaultWritableDir();
   }
   else
   {
@@ -90,24 +117,27 @@ Platform::Platform()
     if (IsEulaExist(devBuildWithSymlink))
     {
       m_resourcesDir = devBuildWithSymlink;
-      m_writableDir = m_resourcesDir;
+      m_writableDir = writableDir != nullptr ? writableDir : m_resourcesDir;
     }
     else if (IsEulaExist(devBuildWithoutSymlink))
     {
       m_resourcesDir = devBuildWithoutSymlink;
-      m_writableDir = m_resourcesDir;
+      m_writableDir = writableDir != nullptr ? writableDir : m_resourcesDir;
     }
     else if (IsEulaExist(installedVersionWithPackages))
     {
       m_resourcesDir = installedVersionWithPackages;
+      m_writableDir = writableDir != nullptr ? writableDir : DefaultWritableDir();
     }
     else if (IsEulaExist(installedVersionWithoutPackages))
     {
       m_resourcesDir = installedVersionWithoutPackages;
+      m_writableDir = writableDir != nullptr ? writableDir : DefaultWritableDir();
     }
     else if (IsEulaExist(customInstall))
     {
       m_resourcesDir = path;
+      m_writableDir = writableDir != nullptr ? writableDir : DefaultWritableDir();
     }
   }
   m_resourcesDir += '/';
diff --git a/platform/platform_qt.cpp b/platform/platform_qt.cpp
index a35dba7099..3e4348cf68 100644
--- a/platform/platform_qt.cpp
+++ b/platform/platform_qt.cpp
@@ -60,7 +60,8 @@ int Platform::VideoMemoryLimit() const
   return 20 * 1024 * 1024;
 }
 
-Platform::EError Platform::MkDir(string const & dirName) const
+// static
+Platform::EError Platform::MkDir(string const & dirName)
 {
   if (QDir().exists(dirName.c_str()))
     return Platform::ERR_FILE_ALREADY_EXISTS;
diff --git a/platform/platform_tests/platform_test.cpp b/platform/platform_tests/platform_test.cpp
index bdccf0af80..2c2dead580 100644
--- a/platform/platform_tests/platform_test.cpp
+++ b/platform/platform_tests/platform_test.cpp
@@ -108,13 +108,12 @@ UNIT_TEST(GetFilesInDir_Smoke)
 
 UNIT_TEST(DirsRoutines)
 {
-  Platform & platform = GetPlatform();
-  string const baseDir = platform.WritableDir();
+  string const baseDir = GetPlatform().WritableDir();
   string const testDir = my::JoinFoldersToPath(baseDir, "test-dir");
   string const testFile = my::JoinFoldersToPath(testDir, "test-file");
 
   TEST(!Platform::IsFileExistsByFullPath(testDir), ());
-  TEST_EQUAL(platform.MkDir(testDir), Platform::ERR_OK, ());
+  TEST_EQUAL(Platform::MkDir(testDir), Platform::ERR_OK, ());
 
   TEST(Platform::IsFileExistsByFullPath(testDir), ());
   TEST(Platform::IsDirectoryEmpty(testDir), ());
@@ -135,11 +134,10 @@ UNIT_TEST(GetFilesByType)
   string const kTestDirBaseName = "test-dir";
   string const kTestFileBaseName = "test-file";
 
-  Platform & platform = GetPlatform();
-  string const baseDir = platform.WritableDir();
+  string const baseDir = GetPlatform().WritableDir();
 
   string const testDir = my::JoinFoldersToPath(baseDir, kTestDirBaseName);
-  TEST_EQUAL(platform.MkDir(testDir), Platform::ERR_OK, ());
+  TEST_EQUAL(Platform::MkDir(testDir), Platform::ERR_OK, ());
   MY_SCOPE_GUARD(removeTestDir, bind(&Platform::RmDir, testDir));
 
   string const testFile = my::JoinFoldersToPath(baseDir, kTestFileBaseName);
@@ -217,14 +215,12 @@ UNIT_TEST(GetWritableStorageStatus)
 
 UNIT_TEST(RmDirRecursively)
 {
-  Platform & platform = GetPlatform();
-
-  string const testDir1 = my::JoinFoldersToPath(platform.WritableDir(), "test_dir1");
-  TEST_EQUAL(platform.MkDir(testDir1), Platform::ERR_OK, ());
+  string const testDir1 = my::JoinFoldersToPath(GetPlatform().WritableDir(), "test_dir1");
+  TEST_EQUAL(Platform::MkDir(testDir1), Platform::ERR_OK, ());
   MY_SCOPE_GUARD(removeTestDir1, bind(&Platform::RmDir, testDir1));
 
   string const testDir2 = my::JoinFoldersToPath(testDir1, "test_dir2");
-  TEST_EQUAL(platform.MkDir(testDir2), Platform::ERR_OK, ());
+  TEST_EQUAL(Platform::MkDir(testDir2), Platform::ERR_OK, ());
   MY_SCOPE_GUARD(removeTestDir2, bind(&Platform::RmDir, testDir2));
 
   string const filePath = my::JoinFoldersToPath(testDir2, "test_file");
diff --git a/platform/platform_tests_support/scoped_dir.cpp b/platform/platform_tests_support/scoped_dir.cpp
index 611909b936..e787f36687 100644
--- a/platform/platform_tests_support/scoped_dir.cpp
+++ b/platform/platform_tests_support/scoped_dir.cpp
@@ -17,8 +17,7 @@ ScopedDir::ScopedDir(string const & relativePath)
       m_relativePath(relativePath),
       m_reset(false)
 {
-  Platform & platform = GetPlatform();
-  Platform::EError ret = platform.MkDir(GetFullPath());
+  Platform::EError ret = Platform::MkDir(GetFullPath());
   switch (ret)
   {
     case Platform::ERR_OK:
diff --git a/platform/platform_tizen.cpp b/platform/platform_tizen.cpp
index 83e6a2419f..1d9e7d5b1c 100644
--- a/platform/platform_tizen.cpp
+++ b/platform/platform_tizen.cpp
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ Platform::Platform()
   m_flags[HAS_ROUTING] = true;
 }
 
+// static
 void Platform::MkDir(string const & dirName) const
 {
   Tizen::Io::Directory::Create(dirName.c_str(), true);
diff --git a/storage/storage.cpp b/storage/storage.cpp
index 6e8d895dec..4956578fe8 100644
--- a/storage/storage.cpp
+++ b/storage/storage.cpp
@@ -656,10 +656,7 @@ void Storage::LoadCountriesFile(string const & pathToCountriesFile, string const
   m_dataDir = dataDir;
 
   if (!m_dataDir.empty())
-  {
-    Platform & platform = GetPlatform();
-    platform.MkDir(my::JoinFoldersToPath(platform.WritableDir(), m_dataDir));
-  }
+    Platform::MkDir(my::JoinFoldersToPath(GetPlatform().WritableDir(), m_dataDir));
 
   if (m_countries.IsEmpty())
   {