This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Harambeyonce777 (talk | contribs) at 19:29, 7 August 2018 (→Plot). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 19:29, 7 August 2018 by Harambeyonce777 (talk | contribs) (→Plot)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)38°16′31.01″N 69°13′35.70″E / 38.2752806°N 69.2265833°E / 38.2752806; 69.2265833
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Tom Clancy |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Jack Ryan |
| Genre | |
| Publisher | G.P. Putnam's Sons |
| Publication date | May 20, 1988 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 543 |
| ISBN | 0399133453 |
| Preceded by | The Hunt for Red October |
| Followed by | Clear and Present Danger |
The Cardinal of the Kremlin is a techno-thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and released on May 20, 1988. A direct sequel to The Hunt for Red October (1984), it features CIA analyst Jack Ryan as he extracts CARDINAL, the agency's highest placed agent in the Soviet government who is being pursued by the KGB. The novel also features the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a real-life missile-defense system developed by the United States during that time, and its Russian counterpart. The book debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list.
Plot summary
For thirty years, Colonel Mikhail Semyonovich “Misha” Filitov, a personal aide to the Soviet Minister of Defense and war hero, has been passing military, technical, and political intelligence to the Central Intelligence Agency as their highest agent-in-place, codenamed CARDINAL. His latest mission concerns a Soviet ABM research project codenamed “Bright Star”, based at a secret defense installation in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Colonel Filitov sends Gennady Bondarenko, a Soviet colonel skilled with lasers, to Dushanbe to evaluate the facility and unwittingly procure information that Misha will then send to his CIA superiors. Unfortunately, a minor slip-up in passing Filitov’s intelligence alerts the KGB, which then aggressively pursues the couriers involved. They later become suspicious of Filitov and place him under surveillance. The courier chain having been quickly shut down by CIA station chief in Moscow, Edward Foley, Filitov’s more important intelligence on Bright Star was delayed; however, he reveals the presence of a KGB agent infiltrating Bright Star's counterpart, Tea Clipper, which alarms the CIA.
The CIA then tasks Foley with extracting CARDINAL out of the country. However, when his wife Mary Pat, also a CIA agent, attempts to make a brush pass to Filitov, the two are arrested by the KGB. The Foleys are then declared persona non grata from the country, while Filitov was imprisoned and psychologically tortured until he eventually confesses to his crimes. In an effort to salvage the mission, CIA analyst Jack Ryan, who had by now learned of CARDINAL’s identity, concocts a plan to secure the return of Filitov and at the same time, force the defection of KGB chairman Nikolay Gerasimov, who has been vying for the position of General Secretary since Filitov’s arrest; Ryan tries to prevent his ascension to power due to his anti-American ideology.
Ryan, who is part of the American arms negotiation team, travels to Moscow for the arms reduction talks. There he meets Gerasimov, and blackmails him into releasing Filitov and betraying his country; if his demands are not met, he will reveal what actually happened to the Soviet ballistic missile submarine Red October from months ago, which would disgrace the KGB chairman, who had used the incident to consolidate KGB’s control over the military. As counter-leverage should he refuse to defect, Gerasimov arranges for the abduction of Tea Clipper’s top SDI researcher, Major Alan Gregory.
Gregory’s abduction was undertaken by KGB agent Tania Bisyarina, who has been handling a mole inside Tea Clipper. The mole, a lesbian named Bea Taussig who unluckily falls in love with Gregory’s fiancée, eventually gives up Bisyarina to the FBI out of guilt, and the Hostage Rescue Team later saves Gregory from her Soviet captors in a shabby desert safe house in New Mexico. Ryan later informs Gerasimov, who finally caves in to his demands. The KGB chairman’s wife and daughter are later extracted by CIA operative John Clark from Estonia, into the submarine USS Dallas. Meanwhile, the secret ABM facility in Dushanbe finds itself under attack by the Afghan mudjahideen, whose leader was known as “the Archer” due to his expertise in using surface-to-air missiles to bring down Soviet ground support aircraft. Colonel Bondarenko, who was there for a second round of evaluations, manages to repel the attackers, protecting Bright Star’s scientific and engineering personnel and eventually killing the Archer.
On the last day of the arms negotiation talks, Gerasimov releases Filitov so that they can both proceed to Sheremetyevo Airport, joining Ryan and the American negotiation team in returning to the United States. They successfully board the American delegation’s aircraft, but Ryan allows himself to be captured by KGB officer Sergey Golovko, who is his counterpart in the arms talks and had become aware of their planned departure. He is then led to the private dacha of General Secretary Narmonov, where they discuss the CIA’s interest in his political position and interference in the Soviet Union’s internal security.
Filitov, who was extensively debriefed by the CIA, later dies due to heart disease. He was buried at Camp David, within twenty miles of the Antietam battlefield. His funeral was attended by Ryan and the Foleys, among others, as well as a Soviet military attaché who questions why Filitov would be buried close to American soldiers. Ryan, always working to keep the peace, explains to him, "One way or another, we all fight for what we believe in. Doesn't that give us some common ground?"
Characters
- John Patrick Ryan, Sr.
- Colonel Mikhail Semyonovich Filitov, aka Misha SA (ret.)
- Nikolay Borissovich Gerasimov, Chairman of the Committee for State Security (KGB)
- Colonel Sergey Nikolayevich Golovko, GRU (Soviet Military Intelligence)/KGB (Committee for State Security)
- Klementi Vladimirovich Vatutin, KGB (Committee for State Security)
- Colonel Gennady Iosifovich Bondarenko, SA
- Captain of the First Rank Marko Aleksandrovich Ramius, aka Mark Ramsey VMF (ret.)
- John Terrence Clark
Film adaptation
A film, based on the book, was planned. It was to involve Harrison Ford and William Shatner. It was never released and the idea was most likely scrapped.
Video game
The Cardinal of the Kremlin is also the title of a 1990 video game based on the novel. In a 1994 survey of wargames Computer Gaming World gave the title one-plus stars out of five, stating that it "utilized intensive bar graphs as a replacement for action and entertainment".
References
- "The New York Times bestseller list for August 7, 1988" (PDF). Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- "Tos TrekMUSE Interview with William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley". Archived from the original on October 22, 2004. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - Brooks, M. Evan (January 1994). "War In Our Time / A Survey Of Wargames From 1950-2000". Computer Gaming World. pp. 194–212.
