The Cardinal of the Kremlin
Encyclopedia
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 on the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative
and its Soviet
equivalent, covering themes including intelligence gathering and counterintelligence, political intrigue, and guerrilla warfare
in Afghanistan.
, a rising CIA
analyst, attends a diplomatic conference in Moscow
as part of an American delegation to the Soviet Union
. He learns that the CIA’s most highly-placed agent, codenamed "CARDINAL", is none other than Colonel Mikhail Semyonovich Filitov, the personal aide to the Soviet Minister of Defense and a national war hero. Filitov was recruited by GRU
colonel and British agent Oleg Penkovskiy, and offered his services to the CIA after the deaths of his wife and two sons; the latter two were killed during their service in the Red Army
. As a result, Filitov has begun passing political, technical, and military intelligence for the CIA for the past thirty years.
The U.S. military discovers through "National Technical Means" that the Soviets were working on an ABM
defense system based at Dushanbe
in Tajikistan
. Emilio Ortiz, a CIA liaison, is sent to aid Mujaheddin rebels in the region. One rebel leader, a man known only as "The Archer," is questioned after unwittingly witnessing a test of the Soviets' ABM system. The Archer determines that the Soviet installation is a threat to him and his people, and tasks his group with attacking and pillaging the facility. In the end, the guerrillas partially succeed by destroying a large amount of Soviet equipment. However, the Afghans suffer horrendous losses, including the death of The Archer.
Ryan travels to New Mexico to meet with a young SDI researcher (Major Alan Gregory, PhD), whom he brings to Washington to brief the President. Gregory lives with another scientist—Candi
Long, PhD,—who is working on adaptive optics
, which will be important to laser weapons. A KGB
agent, Bea Taussig, a lesbian who has unluckily fallen in love with Long, describes Gregory and his work to her KGB handler, Tanya Bisyarina. KGB launches a plan to kidnap and debrief Gregory.
The KGB arrests Filitov after discovering his work for the CIA. However, Ryan concocts a plan to both secure the return of Filitov and arrange the defection of the sitting KGB chairman, Nikolay Borissovich Gerasimov. Gerasimov is angling to take over as General Secretary
in the wake of Filitov's arrest, something Ryan is determined to prevent because of Gerasimov's unyielding anti-American ideology. Ryan schemes to go public with the prior capture
of Soviet submarine Red October, banking on the political instability of the Soviet Politburo
. He plans for Filitov and Gerasimov to be exfiltrated on the American delegation's aircraft, while Gerasimov's family is to be extracted from Estonia
by John Clark
onto the submarine Dallas
.
Meanwhile back in New Mexico, on Gerasimov's orders, three KGB officers kidnap Major Gregory and hold him in a shabby desert safehouse, planning to send him to Moscow for debriefing. Their plans are foiled be the FBI Hostage Rescue Team
, who retrieve Gregory and return him to his lab and his fiancée, Candi Long. Among those killed is Bisyarina. Ryan let Gerasimov know this and Gerasimov, though enraged, recognized he was out of options and had to accept the defection offer.
At this point, Ryan has successfully flipped Gerasimov, who has seen the writing on the wall, and fetches Filitov from his confinement using his power as the KGB Chairman. They then stop at Sheremetyevo Airport
, awaiting the departure of the American delegation. Unfortunately, two security officers are clued into the operation: Klementi Vladimirovich Vatutin, a Colonel of the KGB's Second Chief Directorate who had arrested and interrogated two cutouts in Filitov's courier chain and Sergey Nikolayevch Golovko, an officer of the KGB’s First Chief Directorate (the “Foreign” Directorate). As the pair pursue Gerasimov and Filitov, Ryan falls from the aircraft to the tarmac, and is taken into custody by an enraged Golovko, who points an (unloaded) gun at Ryan's head. (This would become a joke between the two in later novels). Ryan orders the plane to depart, banking on his diplomatic status
to protect him from harm. This is the occasion on which Golovko gives Ryan the Russian-style patronymic
Ivan Emmetovich (John, Son of Emmet), which is used in later novels.
Golovko then escorts Ryan to the private dacha
of General Secretary
Narmonov, where they discuss the CIA's interest in his political position and the CIA's interference in their internal security; their entire meeting becomes a major plot point late in The Sum of All Fears
.
The novel ends with Ryan and several others (including the Foleys, the newly wed Alan and Candi Long Gregory, and the Soviet Defense Attaché
.) attending the funeral of Filitov, who had died in a safe house of chronic heart disease in the months following his CIA debriefing period. Clancy observes that, appropriately for an old soldier, he is buried at Camp David
, within twenty miles of the Antietam battlefield, (Unmentioned by the author, Camp David is equally close to the Gettysburg
battlefield). The one Soviet present is distraught over what Filitov did to avenge his sons, as well as his passing, but questions why he would be buried so 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?"
and William Shatner
. It was never released and the idea was most likely scrapped.
computer game based on the novel.
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
, featuring his character Jack Ryan. It is a sequel to The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October is a 1984 novel by Tom Clancy. The story follows the intertwined adventures of Soviet submarine captain Marko Aleksandrovich Ramius and CIA analyst Jack Ryan.The novel was originally published by the U.S...
, based on the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
and its Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
equivalent, covering themes including intelligence gathering and counterintelligence, political intrigue, and guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
in Afghanistan.
Plot summary
Jack RyanJack Ryan
Jack Ryan may refer to:*Jack Ryan , a fictional character in a series of novels by Tom Clancy*Jack Ryan , former candidate for United States Senator from Illinois and ex-husband of actress Jeri Ryan...
, a rising CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
analyst, attends a diplomatic conference in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
as part of an American delegation to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He learns that the CIA’s most highly-placed agent, codenamed "CARDINAL", is none other than Colonel Mikhail Semyonovich Filitov, the personal aide to the Soviet Minister of Defense and a national war hero. Filitov was recruited by GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
colonel and British agent Oleg Penkovskiy, and offered his services to the CIA after the deaths of his wife and two sons; the latter two were killed during their service in the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. As a result, Filitov has begun passing political, technical, and military intelligence for the CIA for the past thirty years.
The U.S. military discovers through "National Technical Means" that the Soviets were working on an ABM
Anti-ballistic missile
An anti-ballistic missile is a missile designed to counter ballistic missiles .A ballistic missile is used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" describes any antimissile system designed to counter...
defense system based at Dushanbe
Dushanbe
-Economy:Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River...
in Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
. Emilio Ortiz, a CIA liaison, is sent to aid Mujaheddin rebels in the region. One rebel leader, a man known only as "The Archer," is questioned after unwittingly witnessing a test of the Soviets' ABM system. The Archer determines that the Soviet installation is a threat to him and his people, and tasks his group with attacking and pillaging the facility. In the end, the guerrillas partially succeed by destroying a large amount of Soviet equipment. However, the Afghans suffer horrendous losses, including the death of The Archer.
Ryan travels to New Mexico to meet with a young SDI researcher (Major Alan Gregory, PhD), whom he brings to Washington to brief the President. Gregory lives with another scientist—Candi
Long, PhD,—who is working on adaptive optics
Adaptive optics
Adaptive optics is a technology used to improve the performance of optical systems by reducing the effect of wavefront distortions. It is used in astronomical telescopes and laser communication systems to remove the effects of atmospheric distortion, and in retinal imaging systems to reduce the...
, which will be important to laser weapons. A KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
agent, Bea Taussig, a lesbian who has unluckily fallen in love with Long, describes Gregory and his work to her KGB handler, Tanya Bisyarina. KGB launches a plan to kidnap and debrief Gregory.
The KGB arrests Filitov after discovering his work for the CIA. However, Ryan concocts a plan to both secure the return of Filitov and arrange the defection of the sitting KGB chairman, Nikolay Borissovich Gerasimov. Gerasimov is angling to take over as General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
in the wake of Filitov's arrest, something Ryan is determined to prevent because of Gerasimov's unyielding anti-American ideology. Ryan schemes to go public with the prior capture
The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October is a 1984 novel by Tom Clancy. The story follows the intertwined adventures of Soviet submarine captain Marko Aleksandrovich Ramius and CIA analyst Jack Ryan.The novel was originally published by the U.S...
of Soviet submarine Red October, banking on the political instability of the Soviet Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
. He plans for Filitov and Gerasimov to be exfiltrated on the American delegation's aircraft, while Gerasimov's family is to be extracted from Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
by John Clark
John Clark (Tom Clancy character)
John Clark is a fictional character created by Tom Clancy who appears in many of Clancy's novels. He is an Irish American Catholic.-Personal life:...
onto the submarine Dallas
USS Dallas (SSN-700)
USS Dallas is a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine of the United States Navy. It is the Navy's second ship of that name, and the first to be named for the city of Dallas, Texas, although another two ships were scheduled but never completed.-Career:The contract to build Dallas was...
.
Meanwhile back in New Mexico, on Gerasimov's orders, three KGB officers kidnap Major Gregory and hold him in a shabby desert safehouse, planning to send him to Moscow for debriefing. Their plans are foiled be the FBI Hostage Rescue Team
Hostage Rescue Team
The FBI Hostage Rescue Team is the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's counter-terrorism paramilitary tactical team. The HRT is trained to rescue U.S. citizens and allies who are held by a hostile force, either terrorist or criminal...
, who retrieve Gregory and return him to his lab and his fiancée, Candi Long. Among those killed is Bisyarina. Ryan let Gerasimov know this and Gerasimov, though enraged, recognized he was out of options and had to accept the defection offer.
At this point, Ryan has successfully flipped Gerasimov, who has seen the writing on the wall, and fetches Filitov from his confinement using his power as the KGB Chairman. They then stop at Sheremetyevo Airport
Sheremetyevo International Airport
Sheremetyevo International Airport , is an international airport located in the Moscow Oblast, Russia, north-west of central Moscow. It is a hub for the passenger operations of the Russian international airline Aeroflot, and one of the three major airports serving Moscow along with Domodedovo...
, awaiting the departure of the American delegation. Unfortunately, two security officers are clued into the operation: Klementi Vladimirovich Vatutin, a Colonel of the KGB's Second Chief Directorate who had arrested and interrogated two cutouts in Filitov's courier chain and Sergey Nikolayevch Golovko, an officer of the KGB’s First Chief Directorate (the “Foreign” Directorate). As the pair pursue Gerasimov and Filitov, Ryan falls from the aircraft to the tarmac, and is taken into custody by an enraged Golovko, who points an (unloaded) gun at Ryan's head. (This would become a joke between the two in later novels). Ryan orders the plane to depart, banking on his diplomatic status
Diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments that ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws...
to protect him from harm. This is the occasion on which Golovko gives Ryan the Russian-style patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
Ivan Emmetovich (John, Son of Emmet), which is used in later novels.
Golovko then escorts Ryan to the private dacha
Dacha
Dacha is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes often located in the exurbs of Soviet and post-Soviet cities. Cottages or shacks serving as family's main or only home are not considered dachas, although many purpose-built dachas are recently being converted for year-round residence...
of General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. With some exceptions, the office was synonymous with leader of the Soviet Union...
Narmonov, where they discuss the CIA's interest in his political position and the CIA's interference in their internal security; their entire meeting becomes a major plot point late in The Sum of All Fears
The Sum of All Fears
The Sum of All Fears is the best-selling thriller novel by Dan Fogelman and Tom Clancy, and part of the Jack Ryan series. It was the fourth book of the series to be turned into a film. An interesting historical note is that this book was released just days before the Moscow uprising in 1991, which...
.
The novel ends with Ryan and several others (including the Foleys, the newly wed Alan and Candi Long Gregory, and the Soviet Defense Attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
.) attending the funeral of Filitov, who had died in a safe house of chronic heart disease in the months following his CIA debriefing period. Clancy observes that, appropriately for an old soldier, he is buried at Camp David
Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 60 mi north-northwest of Washington, D.C., on the property of Catoctin Mountain Park in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Thurmont, at an elevation of...
, within twenty miles of the Antietam battlefield, (Unmentioned by the author, Camp David is equally close to the Gettysburg
Gettysburg
-Events:* Gettysburg Campaign, a series of American Civil War military engagements in the Main Eastern Theater** Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3 military engagements during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign...
battlefield). The one Soviet present is distraught over what Filitov did to avenge his sons, as well as his passing, but questions why he would be buried so 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.Jack Ryan (Tom Clancy)John Patrick "Jack" Ryan, Sr. is a fictional character created by Tom Clancy who appears in many of his novels.-Backstory:Born in 1950, Ryan's background is established in Patriot Games and Red Rabbit. His father was Emmet William Ryan , a police homicide lieutenant in Baltimore, and World War II...
- Colonel Mikhail Semyonovich Filitov, SASoviet ArmyThe Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
(ret.) - Nikolay Borissovich Gerasimov, Chairman of the Committee for State SecurityKGBThe KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
- Colonel Sergey Nikolayevich Golovko, KGBKGBThe KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
- Colonel Gennady Iosifovich Bondarenko, SA
- Captain, First Rank Marko Ramius, SNSoviet NavyThe Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
(ret.) - John Terrence ClarkJohn Clark (Tom Clancy character)John Clark is a fictional character created by Tom Clancy who appears in many of Clancy's novels. He is an Irish American Catholic.-Personal life:...
Film adaptation
A film, based on the book, was planned. It was to involve Harrison FordHarrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
and William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
. It was never released and the idea was most likely scrapped.
Video game
The Cardinal of the Kremlin is also the title of a 19901990 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*Bonk's Adventure is released for NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and is the first US appearance of Bonk, the mascot of the TurboGrafx-16.*February 12 — Nintendo releases the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America...
computer game based on the novel.