RUSSIAN police have arrested a man who confessed to murdering and eating another man he met through a gay personals website.

The 21-year-old man was arrested on Friday, several days after human remains were found in the Far North city of Murmansk, an official at the regional branch of the Investigative Committee told AFP.

According to investigators, the suspect said he had met a 32-year-old man through the internet and inviting him to his house, where he stabbed him to death.

"Having confirmed that the man is dead, he dismembered the body and ate the human remains," the Investigative Committee said in a statement.

"The only motive for the murder was his desire to taste human flesh," regional Investigative Committee chief Fyodor Blyudyonov was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti agency.

The alleged cannibal searched for his victims in the homosexual community "since this category of people are private and prefer not to disclose their contacts," he added.

"In this way the cannibal intended to attract another dozen people to his house."