The Cardinal of the Kremlin, In Tom Clancy's The Cardinal of the Kremlin, there are many characters who play significant, but small roles. They may appear in one part of the book and never appear again, as this book is more about a situation than a person. There are three characters, however, who appear more relevant and more often than the others, these characters are Archer, Misha and Jack Ryan. The Archer was an Afghan of about thirty years old. He had been a mathematics teacher until three years earlier and had graduated in a country where most people considered knowing how to read the Koran was sufficient. He had married young, as was customary in his homeland, and had two children. But his wife and daughter were dead, killed by rockets fired from a Russian attack fighter. She believed that her son had been kidnapped and shipped to the Soviet Union, where he would be educated and trained in modern ways. The archer knew that he had to avenge the hardships that had been caused to him. In the following passage it is shown that the archer is a fierce vigilante who feels he must himself correct the injustices of society: "The Algebra and Geometry teacher stacked his books neatly on his desk and walked out of the small town of Ghazni and headed for the hills. A week later he returned to the city at night with three other men and proved himself worthy of his legacy by killing three Soviet soldiers and taking their weapons. The Archer later goes on to state: "I still carry the knife that once belonged to my first sacrificial Russian." This quote shows that the Archer is almost ritualistic in his dealings and that he believes that all Russians are despicable primates, not worthy of the term. "human being." The Archer, although second modern Western standards is a villain, he feels that he is a mudjahideen, or freedom fighter, and that he is acting in accordance with the divine will of Allah Praises the god whenever given the chance; an example of this is when he disdainfully utters "in the name of Allah I will strike you to death", and once again when the author writes "The Archer blessed the name of Allah as he drew the knife from the sheath". These quotes above also show that the Archer was abnormally violent and felt little to no remorse for the lives he had taken, in fact he viewed his murders as his contributions to his country, his family and himself. Colonel Marshal Yazov or Misha as he was called was a former tank captain of the Soviet Union, decorated three times with the honor of Hero of the Soviet Union. He had fought for his country for many years and was recently promoted to the title of General of Defense, the highest defense position in the government. Misha is introduced early on and shown as more than just a stereotypical Russian soldier who cares more about Vodka than his family. When the reader learns about Misha, he is talking to a woman at a social function about junior hockey and how much joy it brings Misha to watch his son play. He says, “Now I am four times proud grandfather,” showing that he is also very emotional. Misha later softens even more when he reveals, "Anna, my one true love and mother of my children, has died of cancer." At this point the reader finds it hard to believe that this man has the power to deploy nuclear weapons at any time and against anyone he wishes. The book, however, reaffirms your original impression of him when you learn that Misha was copying top secret information and secretly briefing the CIA on its contents. One problem I have with this character is that he is portrayed as a true Russian patriot, in a conversation between Jack Ryan and Marko Ramius he is described as: "A man who has,.