diff --git a/scripts/setup/initialize-database b/scripts/setup/initialize-database
index 0bf8355898..f5a8500889 100755
--- a/scripts/setup/initialize-database
+++ b/scripts/setup/initialize-database
@@ -32,17 +32,6 @@ cd "$THIS_DIR/../.."
 ./manage.py migrate --noinput
 ./manage.py createcachetable third_party_api_results
 
-if ! ./manage.py initialize_production_database; then
-    set +x
-    echo
-    echo -e '\033[32mPopulating default database failed.'
-    echo "After you fix the problem, you will need to do the following before rerunning this:"
-    echo "  * supervisorctl stop all # to stop all services that might be accessing the database"
-    echo "  * scripts/setup/postgres-init-db # run as root to drop and re-create the database"
-    echo -e '\033[0m'
-    exit 1
-fi
-
 # Check if the supervisor socket exists.  If not, it could be:
 #
 # A) A normal installation went bad (supervisor hasn't started)
diff --git a/zerver/lib/actions.py b/zerver/lib/actions.py
index 963f5496f4..2b05f12ac3 100644
--- a/zerver/lib/actions.py
+++ b/zerver/lib/actions.py
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ from zerver.lib.realm_logo import get_realm_logo_data
 from zerver.lib.retention import move_messages_to_archive
 from zerver.lib.send_email import send_email, FromAddress, send_email_to_admins, \
     clear_scheduled_emails, clear_scheduled_invitation_emails
+from zerver.lib.server_initialization import create_internal_realm, server_initialized
 from zerver.lib.storage import static_path
 from zerver.lib.stream_subscription import (
     get_active_subscriptions_for_stream_id,
@@ -3753,6 +3754,9 @@ def do_create_realm(string_id: str, name: str,
                     emails_restricted_to_domains: Optional[bool]=None) -> Realm:
     if Realm.objects.filter(string_id=string_id).exists():
         raise AssertionError("Realm %s already exists!" % (string_id,))
+    if not server_initialized():
+        logging.info("Server not yet initialized. Creating the internal realm first.")
+        create_internal_realm()
 
     kwargs = {}  # type: Dict[str, Any]
     if emails_restricted_to_domains is not None:
diff --git a/zerver/lib/server_initialization.py b/zerver/lib/server_initialization.py
index 8b9da25ff9..0db5cb555c 100644
--- a/zerver/lib/server_initialization.py
+++ b/zerver/lib/server_initialization.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 from django.conf import settings
 
-from zerver.lib.actions import do_change_is_admin
 from zerver.lib.bulk_create import bulk_create_users
 from zerver.models import Realm, UserProfile, email_to_username, get_client, \
     get_system_bot
@@ -8,9 +7,11 @@ from zerver.models import Realm, UserProfile, email_to_username, get_client, \
 from typing import Iterable, Optional, Tuple
 
 def server_initialized() -> bool:
-    return Realm.objects.count() > 0
+    return Realm.objects.exists()
 
 def create_internal_realm() -> None:
+    from zerver.lib.actions import do_change_is_admin
+
     realm = Realm.objects.create(string_id=settings.SYSTEM_BOT_REALM)
 
     # Create the "website" and "API" clients:
diff --git a/zerver/management/commands/initialize_production_database.py b/zerver/management/commands/initialize_production_database.py
deleted file mode 100644
index cdaf5939ac..0000000000
--- a/zerver/management/commands/initialize_production_database.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-from argparse import ArgumentParser
-from typing import Any
-
-from django.conf import settings
-from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand
-
-from zerver.lib.server_initialization import create_internal_realm, server_initialized
-
-settings.TORNADO_SERVER = None
-
-class Command(BaseCommand):
-    help = "Populate system realm and bots for a Zulip production server"
-
-    def add_arguments(self, parser: ArgumentParser) -> None:
-        parser.add_argument('--extra-users',
-                            dest='extra_users',
-                            type=int,
-                            default=0,
-                            help='The number of extra users to create')
-
-    def handle(self, *args: Any, **options: Any) -> None:
-        if server_initialized():
-            print("Database already initialized; doing nothing.")
-            return
-        create_internal_realm()
-
-        self.stdout.write("Successfully populated database with initial data.\n")
-        self.stdout.write("Please run ./manage.py generate_realm_creation_link "
-                          "to generate link for creating organization")
diff --git a/zerver/tests/test_realm.py b/zerver/tests/test_realm.py
index a55a627649..b635c1dedf 100644
--- a/zerver/tests/test_realm.py
+++ b/zerver/tests/test_realm.py
@@ -35,6 +35,12 @@ class RealmTest(ZulipTestCase):
                                                 new_realm_name: str) -> None:
         self.assertEqual(user_profile.realm.name, new_realm_name)
 
+    def test_realm_creation_ensures_internal_realms(self) -> None:
+        with mock.patch("zerver.lib.actions.server_initialized", return_value=False):
+            with mock.patch("zerver.lib.actions.create_internal_realm") as mock_create_internal:
+                do_create_realm("testrealm", "Test Realm")
+                mock_create_internal.assert_called_once()
+
     def test_do_set_realm_name_caching(self) -> None:
         """The main complicated thing about setting realm names is fighting the
         cache, and we start by populating the cache for Hamlet, and we end