The shocking find was made by a local at a popular fishing spot – uncovering the macabre discovery beneath the ice.
All but one of the 54 hands were sealed in a bag, and police believe they belong to 27 pairs.
Pictures show the selection of decaying digits laid out on the snow as police try to solve the case.
The discovery was made on a river island close to the city of Khabarovsk in of Siberia, close to the border with China.Police believe they suggest a spate of grave robbings, rather than being cut from living people. One gruesome theory is that the hands were severed from dead bodies in a hospital.
It is feared the corpses may have been used for stealing body parts and the hands were cut to prevent bodies being identified afterwards.
Another theory is that the hands could have been axed off as a punishment for theft.One of the hands was found separately further downstream on another island in the Amur River.
Fingerprints were found on one hand, and the others are being checked.
Medical bandages and hospital-style plastic coverings for shoes were reportedlyfound next to the selection of hands.Russian investigators have not given any details about the probe into the case so far.
There is “mystery over who the sinister hands belonged to, when they were chopped off – and why”, reports local media.
Locals have said they did not recall any suspicious activity no the island.
Last year, a cannibal couple were arrested in Russia believed to have been killing and eating people using dating apps to snare them.
Police find £80,000 cannabis farm with around 322 plants
A huge cannabis haul worth an estimated £80,000 has been seized by West Yorkshire Police after they spotted a house with suspiciously no snow on the roof.
Officers stormed the property on a street near to Arctic Street in Keighley yesterday after catching a strong smell of cannabis outside. Police then noticed a lack of snow on the roof, which suggested a strong heat presence inside the property.
Upon entering the house, police found around 322 plants in all four bedrooms of the property and in the cellar. The heat from the lamps which helped to grow the plants was melting the ice and snow off the roof.
PC James Butterfield tweeted that his 'size 10 boots came in handy' when booting down the door.
He added: 'Removing this filth from the streets is always great.
'Knowing that the morons responsible for it are £80k out of pocket is a Bruceybonus! #didntwedowell.'
PC Caroline Foster tweeted pictures from their successful drugs haul.
She added: 'Whilst the snow has kept the burglars at bay it has also helped us in finding some rather large plants.
'Hmmm, I wonder why there is no snow on your roof? 280+ plants seized from an address in Keighley today, some nearly 6ft tall.'
Vicky Watson, 44, who lives next door to the cannabis farm, said: 'Two Eastern European blokes, in their 30s, moved in about 18 months ago.
'In the cold weather my house is normally freezing because the insulation is rubbish, but since they moved in next door my bathroom has been absolutely red hot. The wall was warm to touch.
'It was suspicious, you could hear fans whirring but no normal sounds of people living there.
'They were two blokes with no kids. We thought they were gay.'
Another neighbour added: 'Over the last few days the smell has got pretty strong and after the snow kept thawing on their roof, you just knew they were growing cannabis.
'Well done for the police turning out on such a freezing cold day to take those drugs off the streets.'Now those cannabis farmers have lost their crop I dread to think how they are going to afford their leccy bill.'
Police say no-one was in the property at the time of their entry. Work is now underway to confiscate the plants, which will be officially examined and valued.
No arrests have been made.
Anyone who has information about drugs in Keighley is asked to contact the Keighley NPT on 101 or the independent Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.
