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The Cardinal of the Kremlin is a novel by Tom Clancy, featuring his character Jack Ryan. It is a sequel of sorts 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.

Plot

Template:Spoiler The book starts out at a diplomatic conference in Moscow. Jack Ryan, a CIA intellegence officer, who is featured in almost all of the Tom Clancy novels, is attending. It is revealed that the CIA’s most highly-placed spy, codenamed CARDINAL (hence the title) is really Colonel Filitov, who is the personal secretary to the Soviet Minister of Defense. Filitov was a very courageous tanker during World War II. He won three Hero of the Soviet Union medals (the equivalent of the Medal of Honor) during the Battle of Stalingrad. He decided to offer his services to the CIA after his wife and two sons died. His two sons, also tankers, both died 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 laser defense system. 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 to the press the details of the Red October incident, which would be a fatal embarrassment to the KGB, and the entire Soviet Union 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, who just graduated from college, to go to Riga, where the CIA will get them both on an American submarine, the USS Dallas.

As the Dallas enters Soviet waters, a destroyer detects her presence. Luckily, Marko Ramius, who defected along with the Red October in The Hunt for Red October is on board the Dallas. He gets on the intercom, and says that he is a Spetznaz submarine, and the Soviets buy it. John Clark, who is trailing Gerasimov’s family knocks out their bodyguard and takes them to the Dallas. Captain Bart Mancuso, also from The Hunt for Red October is shocked when he finds out that he has on his submarine the family of the KGB chairman.

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.

Three months later, Ryan and several others attend the funeral of Filitov who died of heart complications.

• 1989 books
• Techno-thriller novels
• Tom Clancy