diff --git a/qgis.1 b/qgis.1
index ead81a047779..6b82222c9d25 100644
--- a/qgis.1
+++ b/qgis.1
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.TH QGIS 1 "April 13, 2008"
+.TH QGIS 1 "March 19, 2010"
 .SH NAME
 qgis \- Quantum GIS Geographic Information System 
 .SH SYNOPSIS
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ qgis \- Quantum GIS Geographic Information System
 .B "     [--extent"
 .I xmin,ymin,xmax,ymax]
 .br
+.B "     [--noplugins]"
+.br
 .B "     [--help]"
 .br
 .B "     [file]..."
@@ -65,7 +67,11 @@ are symbolized, and the view extent is restored.
 .B \--extent xmin,ymin,xmax,ymax
 Set initial map extent by passing coordinates of that rectangle.
 .TP
-.B \--help 
+.B \--noplugins
+.br
+Don't restore plugins on startup. Useful if some third-party plugins make QGIS crash during startup.
+.TP
+.B \--help
 .br 
 Display brief usage help.
 .TP
diff --git a/src/app/main.cpp b/src/app/main.cpp
index 605e407ad39d..e1750fe3096a 100644
--- a/src/app/main.cpp
+++ b/src/app/main.cpp
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ void usage( std::string const & appName )
             << "\t[--project projectfile]\tload the given QGIS project\n"
             << "\t[--extent xmin,ymin,xmax,ymax]\tset initial map extent\n"
             << "\t[--nologo]\thide splash screen\n"
+            << "\t[--noplugins]\tdon't restore plugins on startup\n"
             << "\t[--optionspath path]\tuse the given QSettings path\n"
             << "\t[--help]\t\tthis text\n\n"
             << "  FILES:\n"
@@ -267,6 +268,7 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
   int mySnapshotHeight = 600;
 
   bool myHideSplash = false;
+  bool myRestorePlugins = true;
 
   // This behaviour will set initial extent of map canvas, but only if
   // there are no command line arguments. This gives a usable map
@@ -296,6 +298,7 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
         /* These options set a flag. */
         {"help", no_argument, 0, '?'},
         {"nologo", no_argument, 0, 'n'},
+        {"noplugins", no_argument, 0, 'P'},
         /* These options don't set a flag.
          *  We distinguish them by their indices. */
         {"snapshot", required_argument, 0, 's'},
@@ -354,6 +357,10 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
           myProjectFileName = QDir::convertSeparators( QFileInfo( QFile::decodeName( optarg ) ).absoluteFilePath() );
           break;
 
+        case 'P':
+          myRestorePlugins = false;
+          break;
+
         case 'e':
           myInitialExtent = optarg;
           break;
@@ -402,6 +409,10 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
     {
       myHideSplash = true;
     }
+    else if ( arg == "--noplugins" || arg == "-P" )
+    {
+      myRestorePlugins = false;
+    }
     else if ( i + 1 < argc && ( arg == "--snapshot" || arg == "-s" ) )
     {
       mySnapshotFileName = QDir::convertSeparators( QFileInfo( QFile::decodeName( argv[++i] ) ).absoluteFilePath() );
@@ -615,7 +626,7 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
   }
 #endif
 
-  QgisApp *qgis = new QgisApp( mypSplash ); // "QgisApp" used to find canonical instance
+  QgisApp *qgis = new QgisApp( mypSplash, myRestorePlugins ); // "QgisApp" used to find canonical instance
   qgis->setObjectName( "QgisApp" );
 
   /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
diff --git a/src/app/qgisapp.cpp b/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
index 2c77214b23e3..7f74007f33a2 100644
--- a/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgisapp.cpp
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ static void customSrsValidation_( QgsCoordinateReferenceSystem* srs )
 QgisApp *QgisApp::smInstance = 0;
 
 // constructor starts here
-QgisApp::QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, QWidget * parent, Qt::WFlags fl )
+QgisApp::QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, bool restorePlugins, QWidget * parent, Qt::WFlags fl )
     : QMainWindow( parent, fl ),
     mSplash( splash ),
     mPythonUtils( NULL )
@@ -425,7 +425,12 @@ QgisApp::QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, QWidget * parent, Qt::WFlags fl )
   mSplash->showMessage( tr( "Restoring loaded plugins" ), Qt::AlignHCenter | Qt::AlignBottom );
   qApp->processEvents();
   QgsPluginRegistry::instance()->setQgisInterface( mQgisInterface );
-  QgsPluginRegistry::instance()->restoreSessionPlugins( QgsApplication::pluginPath() );
+  if ( restorePlugins )
+  {
+    // Restoring of plugins can be disabled with --noplugins command line option
+    // because some plugins may cause QGIS to crash during startup
+    QgsPluginRegistry::instance()->restoreSessionPlugins( QgsApplication::pluginPath() );
+  }
 
   mSplash->showMessage( tr( "Initializing file filters" ), Qt::AlignHCenter | Qt::AlignBottom );
   qApp->processEvents();
diff --git a/src/app/qgisapp.h b/src/app/qgisapp.h
index a602801dfe17..40871c426dfc 100644
--- a/src/app/qgisapp.h
+++ b/src/app/qgisapp.h
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ class QgisApp : public QMainWindow
     Q_OBJECT
   public:
     //! Constructor
-    QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, QWidget * parent = 0, Qt::WFlags fl = Qt::Window );
+    QgisApp( QSplashScreen *splash, bool restorePlugins = true, QWidget * parent = 0, Qt::WFlags fl = Qt::Window );
     //! Destructor
     ~QgisApp();
     /**