diff --git a/Lib/test/test_email/test_utils.py b/Lib/test/test_email/test_utils.py
--- a/Lib/test/test_email/test_utils.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_email/test_utils.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import time
 import unittest
 import sys
+import os.path
 
 class DateTimeTests(unittest.TestCase):
 
@@ -123,6 +124,9 @@
     # XXX: Need a more robust test for Olson's tzdata
     @unittest.skipIf(sys.platform.startswith('win'),
                      "Windows does not use Olson's TZ database")
+    @unittest.skipUnless(os.path.exists('/usr/share/zoneinfo') or
+                         os.path.exists('/usr/lib/zoneinfo'),
+                         "Can't find the Olson's TZ database")
     @test.support.run_with_tz('Europe/Kiev')
     def test_variable_tzname(self):
         t0 = datetime.datetime(1984, 1, 1, tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc)