Thanks guys for all the comments and special to detective Simon Olsen.
Rgds, Kees.

I sailed on two Victory Ships so this is a really sad sight to see. This Victory Ship clearly has been stripped out. All of the cargo booms and their associated rigging have been removed from the masts, along with the shrouds (standing rigging). In addition, there is no radar antenna on top of the radar mast.

Still curious to know whether the US allowed a Soviet tug to do the tow. Perhaps she picked up the HV somewhere out of sight from California.

That's good, Simon.
HOPE VICTORY was in the Suisan Bay Reserve Fleet, California, and scrapped at Alang, so Singapore on direct route.

HOPE VICTORY (IMO 5154416) with BERKUT in that position was off Singapore on 21 April 1990. They were anchored beyond the Changi anchorage so that only the Victory's funnel top was visible from the Eastern anchorage. A group of Dutch photographers was also there that day.

For the courtesy flag I would suggest Singapore,it looks like there are some marks in the red zone.

Looks like she is in Singapore for bunkering or another stopover, two anchors down and towing gear still fastened. Might be on the way to Taiwan breakers.
The tug`s courtesy flag looks like Singapore (more likely) or Indonesia.

So what we need to know is which Victory ship was towed around 1991 from the US west coast for demolition in Asia. Could it be that the original tug (American?) had the order to make the tow to Singapore, from where another tug (this one?) would take the ship to her final destination?

Lost the hammer & sickle c12/1991 when she transferred to Ukraine flag with Black Sea Shipping Co.

The ship is a stripped Victory ship, presuably heading for demolition. But I am not sure that USSR flag tug would have been permitted to tow from US Reserve Fleet.

The tug;s name is BERKUT, IMO 8201387. She carried this name from 1987 to 2000. That nails down the time frame, but it is still large.