diff --git a/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/application/TransactionGuard.java b/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/application/TransactionGuard.java
index 7291d411e241..423684a31408 100644
--- a/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/application/TransactionGuard.java
+++ b/platform/core-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/application/TransactionGuard.java
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ package com.intellij.openapi.application;
 
 import com.intellij.openapi.components.ServiceManager;
 import com.intellij.openapi.progress.ProcessCanceledException;
+import com.intellij.openapi.util.Computable;
+import com.intellij.openapi.util.Ref;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.NotNull;
 
 /**
@@ -96,14 +98,27 @@ public abstract class TransactionGuard {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Schedules a transaction and waits for it to be completed. Only allowed to be invoked on non-UI thread and outside read action.
+   * Schedules a transaction and waits for it to be completed. Fails if invoked on UI thread inside an incompatible transaction,
+   * or inside a read action on non-UI thread.
    * @see #submitMergeableTransaction(TransactionKind, Runnable)
-   * @param kind
-   * @param transaction
    * @throws ProcessCanceledException if current thread is interrupted
    */
   public abstract void submitTransactionAndWait(@NotNull TransactionKind kind, @NotNull Runnable transaction) throws ProcessCanceledException;
 
+  /**
+   * Same as {@link #submitTransactionAndWait(TransactionKind, Runnable)}, but returns a value computed by the transaction.
+   */
+  public <T> T submitTransactionAndWait(@NotNull TransactionKind kind, @NotNull final Computable<T> transaction) throws ProcessCanceledException {
+    final Ref<T> result = Ref.create();
+    submitTransactionAndWait(kind, new Runnable() {
+      @Override
+      public void run() {
+        result.set(transaction.compute());
+      }
+    });
+    return result.get();
+  }
+
   /**
    * A synchronous version of {@link #submitMergeableTransaction(TransactionKind, Runnable)}.
    * @return a token object for this transaction. Call {@link AccessToken#finish()} (inside finally) when the transaction is complete.
diff --git a/platform/core-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/application/TransactionGuardImpl.java b/platform/core-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/application/TransactionGuardImpl.java
index eb4b02eec959..43ca3fb43d63 100644
--- a/platform/core-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/application/TransactionGuardImpl.java
+++ b/platform/core-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/application/TransactionGuardImpl.java
@@ -48,7 +48,6 @@ public class TransactionGuardImpl extends TransactionGuard {
       // please assign exceptions that occur here to Peter
       LOG.error("Nested transactions are not allowed, see FAQ in TransactionGuard class javadoc. Transaction start trace is in attachment. Kind is " + kind,
                 new Attachment("trace.txt", myTransactionStartTrace));
-      //throw new IllegalStateException("Nested transactions are not allowed");
     }
     myTransactionStartTrace = DebugUtil.currentStackTrace();
     return new AccessToken() {
@@ -99,7 +98,7 @@ public class TransactionGuardImpl extends TransactionGuard {
     Runnable runnable = new Runnable() {
       @Override
       public void run() {
-        if (!isInsideTransaction() || kind != TransactionKind.NO_MERGE && myMergeableKinds.contains(kind)) {
+        if (canRunTransactionNow(kind)) {
           runSyncTransaction(kind, transaction);
         }
         else {
@@ -118,6 +117,10 @@ public class TransactionGuardImpl extends TransactionGuard {
     }
   }
 
+  protected boolean canRunTransactionNow(@NotNull TransactionKind kind) {
+    return !isInsideTransaction() || kind != TransactionKind.NO_MERGE && myMergeableKinds.contains(kind);
+  }
+
   @Override
   @NotNull
   public AccessToken acceptNestedTransactions(TransactionKind... kinds) {
@@ -144,9 +147,15 @@ public class TransactionGuardImpl extends TransactionGuard {
   @Override
   public void submitTransactionAndWait(@NotNull TransactionKind kind, @NotNull final Runnable transaction) throws ProcessCanceledException {
     Application app = ApplicationManager.getApplication();
-    assert !app.isDispatchThread() : "submitTransactionAndWait should not be invoked on dispatch thread";
-    assert !app.isReadAccessAllowed() : "submitTransactionAndWait should not be invoked from a read action";
+    if (app.isDispatchThread()) {
+      if (!canRunTransactionNow(kind)) {
+        throw new AssertionError("Cannot run submitTransactionAndWait from another transaction, kind " + kind + " is not allowed");
+      }
+      runSyncTransaction(kind, transaction);
+      return;
+    }
 
+    assert !app.isReadAccessAllowed() : "submitTransactionAndWait should not be invoked from a read action";
     final Semaphore semaphore = new Semaphore();
     semaphore.down();
     final Throwable[] exception = {null};