officer who is later expelled from the Soviet Union after his arrest. Mary Pat Foley: CIA operative, Ed Foley's wife. Filitov's case officer who is also PNG'd out of the country after his arrest. Bart Mancuso: Commanding officer of the Marko Ramius: Former commanding officer of Soviet ballistic missile submarine Red October, which appears in the novel as being stripped of its equipment and later scuttled. He now works for the United States Navy and the CIA as Mark Ramsey, utilizing his submarine knowledge and leadership skills. John Clark: CIA operations officer who spirits Gerasimov's wife and daughter out of the Soviet Union Arthur Moore: Director of Central Intelligence James Greer: CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence Themes The Cardinal of the Kremlin is considered to be Clancy's primary example of a traditional espionage novel until Red Rabbit (2002). It included “a near fetishist attention to the details of the tradecraft of spying and an exploration of the individuals who take up this dangerous vocation”. In addition, the book was written during the time of Soviet general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev’s rule, which was considered by historians as a crucial point in world history where Communism in the Soviet Union began its decline. Clancy affirms his opinion that with reformers in the Soviet government like Gorbachev, the country will be more likely to establish a shift in its relations between the United States, which was later made possible by the dissolution of the country three years later. The book was also written at the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, as well as the Strategic Defense Initiative, a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons. They were both featured in the novel. It also continues elements set forth in previous novel The Hunt for Red October (1984), including Filitov and Ramius’s similarities in motivation for committing treason against their own country. Reception The book became the bestselling novel of the year, selling 1,277,000 hardcover copies. It received positive reviews. Kirkus Reviews praised the book as "less reliant on technoblather than previous Clancy works, and awash in subplots, most of them entertaining. Plenty of action; no mushy stuff." In Robert Lekachman's review of the book for The New York Times, he hailed it as "by far the best of the Jack Ryan series", adding: "While his prose is no better than workmanlike