Fire is an integral and major control on forest properties and ecosystem functions within the boreal forest. However, significant spatial and temporal variability in fire regimes occurs across this area that may not current be being encompassed in models and predictions of its future, particularly under a changing climate. This study has attempted to determine the relative controls on spatial and temporal variability in fire regime within the less well-studied region of western Russia, over the past two decades. While results show some similarity to other regions of Russia, there is an inherent and significant variability within this system that must be accounted for. The interaction between anthropogenic and natural drivers seems to be particularly important here. Scaling this up across the boreal forests is crucial if we are to understand how fire disturbance regimes will respond to amplified warming in high latitude regions.