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The Cardinal of the Kremlin is a novel by Tom Clancy, featuring his character Jack Ryan. It is a sequel to The Hunt for Red October, based around the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative and its Soviet equivalent, covering themes including intelligence gathering and counterintelligence, political intrigue, and guerilla warfare in Afghanistan.

This book is notable for its outrageous (yet plausible) conclusion and the increasing predominance of pro-military, pro-law enforcement views endorsed in Clancy’s writing. It is also the closest to a straightforward spy novel of all of his books. Ironically, in spite of Clancy's self-proclaimed pro-military views, he caused considerable trouble to the military by outing black operations defense contractor Mickey Finn (inventor) and his company Qual-a-tec. Once his name was made public, Finn ceased to be in a position to supply his advanced weapons systems to U.S. special forces. Clancy refused to apologize for this, claiming that he was "honoring" Finn by mentioning his name.

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler The book begins at a diplomatic conference in Moscow. Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst who is featured in almost all of Clancy’s novels, is in attendance. It is revealed that the CIA’s most highly-placed spy, codenamed CARDINAL is really Colonel Filitov, the personal secretary to the Soviet Minister of Defense and a national war hero (who may have been based on the real-life Ryszard Kuklinski). He won three Hero of the Soviet Union medals (the equivalent of the Medal of Honor) over the course of his career, notably at the Battle of Stalingrad. He offered his services to the CIA after his wife died and his two sons, both tankers, were killed in tank accidents. He has been passing on Soviet military secrets to the CIA for over 30 years.

In Tajikistan, the Americans have found out through satellite recon that the Soviets are working on a ICBM laser defense system (an equivilant to the US "Star Wars" system) at Dushanbe. However, the Afghan resistance is trying to destroy it. In the end, they do, and everything is destroyed.

Eventually Filitov’s identity is discovered and he is arrested by the KGB. However, Ryan blackmails Gerasimov, the KGB chairman; he plans to release the details of the Red October incident if Gerasimov does not free Filitov. Gerasimov decides to take custody of Filitov, and they will both get on a plane with American diplomats. He then tells his wife and daughter to go to Riga, where the CIA will get them both on an American submarine, the USS Dallas.

As the USS Dallas enters Soviet waters, a destroyer detects her presence. Luckily, Marko Ramius, the former captain of the Red October, is on board the Dallas. He gets on the intercom, and declares that they are a Spetznaz submarine. Meanwhile John Clark gets Gerasimov’s wife and daughter to the Dallas.

Gerasimov escorts Filitov to an airfield. As he and Filitov are getting on the plane, KGB operatives Vatutin and Golovko discover the plan to defect. Ryan tells the plane to leave without him, knowing that the KGB can’t harm him as he has diplomatic immunity. Ryan ends up at the dacha of General Secretary of the Soviet Union Narmonov, where they have a pleasant chat.

The novel ends with Ryan and several others attending the funeral of Filitov, who died of heart complications.

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• 1989 novels
• Techno-thriller novels
• Tom Clancy