The decision this week from a Dutch court ordering $850 million in compensation to be paid to Yukos shareholders is just the latest in growing string of legal victories against the Kremlin – bringing not only optimism but also concern of the repercussions. The ruling may be the first of several to return up to $2 billion worth of Yukos’s Dutch assets back to the shareholders, opening up precedent for further compensation in other jurisdictions. On top of many other legal reverses in international courts over the past year relating to the Yukos, Khodorokovsky, and Lebedev cases, the Dutch decision has defined a limit on how much Rosneft will be allowed to plunder of what was once Russia’s most dynamic and transparent energy corporation. These defeats are piling up, and I expect we will soon see vengeful reprisals.