The Cardinal of the Kremlin (published in 1988) - A spy novel authored by Tom Clancy

Tom Clancy, who died recently, was a prolific writer of fiction, but the gripping kind. His novels were long, the books thick, but they were very detailed, and for his fans (of which I am one), they were hard to put down. Unlike many other novelists who would write with the concept of the CIA being a bad force, Clancy was more of a fan of the intelligence agencies, and specifically of the CIA (but not every officer of the CIA). His favorite was a reflection of how he himself was - conservative, high on morals, and hard working, able to do the right thing when it was required rather than backing down. And this was another novel in the earlier life of Jack Ryan, the character he created, a former marine who entered the CIA as a sort of reaction to terrorists attack on his family and who was not very fond of the politics inside the agency. By reading his novels, you would feel that you know what happens inside the agency, making it seem more humane.
The Cardinal of the Kremlin was another spy story, set within the environment of non-violent conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. They would spy on each other, try their hardest to keep on evolving new technologies to outdo each other, and also when required (in an extreme case) conduct actual physical operations in each other's territory although this was limited since an all out conduct of physical operations in each other's territory that involved kidnapping or murder would become horrendous very soon, in a game of catch-up. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan had already happened and the fight-back by the Mujhaideen, supported by the US and Saudi Arabia was already on to oppose this invasion. Both countries were also in the midst of using laser research to develop high-energy weapons, to also conduct anti-satellite operations. But the most important element in the book was the 'Cardinal', one of the most important Soviet military agents who was controlled by the CIA and revealed a lot of super-secret military information.



The book deals with the life of 2 men - Jack Ryan, who is in the CIA and moving up in the agency. His role in the 'The Hunt for Red October' has earned him laurels. The other person who the books deals with is Colonel Mikhail Semyonovich Filitov, code name 'Cardinal', who is a decorated soldier and a war hero, and also the aide to the Soviet defense minister. In his position, he is invaluable to the CIA, but the passing on of documents is also an invitation to being revealed. Either somebody on the other side can reveal it, or counter-intelligence agents can figure out that information is being leaked, and that will meet that sooner or later the agent will be found out. In most countries, spying is deemed as treason, and is rewarded with execution, so the other country will try desperately to get their spy out. That is what happens in this case; the Cardinal is caught (but so important is his status and being a war hero, that the though of torturing him to get him to confess his crimes is fraught with danger, with the Soviet army reluctant to let their hero be tortured). And with the loss of the Red October submarine in the previous novel, and a few more cases, Ryan is able to force the hand of the KGB chief and present him no option but to defect. And then there is the case of the rival laser research and kidnapping and attack on installations ? For all this, you will have to read the book.