diff --git a/tools/lvmcmdline.c b/tools/lvmcmdline.c
index 48635567a..8fc568062 100644
--- a/tools/lvmcmdline.c
+++ b/tools/lvmcmdline.c
@@ -1364,6 +1364,10 @@ int lvm2_main(int argc, char **argv)
 		unsetenv("LVM_DID_EXEC");
 	}
 
+	/* "version" command is simple enough so it doesn't need any complex init */
+	if (!alias && argc > 1 && !strcmp(argv[1], "version"))
+		return version(NULL, argc, argv);
+
 	if (!(cmd = init_lvm()))
 		return -1;