The woman was found semi-buried in a forest between St Petersburg and suburb Yuntolovo, home to more than 10,000 people.
A 36-year-old man walking in the forest discovered the macabre remains around a month ago, say police.
The woman, who was wearing a tracksuit and is believed to be in her forties, has not been identified. A gold chain was found in her pocket.
Reports say the woman was buried around seven days ago and it was likely she was alive at the time she was put there.
She was unable to free herself from the hole and had several ‘small wounds’ on her head.
Her corpse had been sent for an autopsy and authorities are awaiting the results.
The body was located 500 metres from a highway linking the city to the suburb.
Earlier this month it was reported that a woman had to dig out of her own grave after she was allegedly beaten and buried alive by drunk neighbours.
Nina Rudchenko, 57, was left with horrific injuries after her ordeal – including a broken jaw and nose.
Local reports claim Nina was at her home in the village when two drunk brothers broke into her house.
The brothers, believed to be aged 27 and 30, allegedly beat her with a baseball bat and tortured her for two hours until she passed out.
They then allegedly dragged her motionless body to the local cemetery and started pouring water on her face.
When she regained consciousness, they allegedly forced her to dig a grave then ordered her to lie in it.
Recalling the horrific events, Nina said to local media:
”I lay in the grave face down and they began to bury me.
”I covered my face with hands trying to reserve some air. They were laughing and talking about plans to kill all my family.
”After they finished, they wondered if I had already died then went away.”
The incident happened a week ago in Russia.
