Don't know if it's as much about oil as it is about image.

Regional/ethnic hatreds and distrust run rampant around there, as shown with having 'breakaway provinces" such as South Ossetia, in a country approx the size of South Carolina. What occurred when Yugoslavia became a collage of independent states, and the warring which happened among all the parties, is quite similar.

South Ossetia is a border area (county-sized) inhabited by folk with kinships to the north (Russia) and south (Georgia). There has been a lot of "get even" going on in these areas since the USSR breakup, and those with Russian ties have sought Russian protection from those with Georgian ties - a modern-day Hatfield and McCoys situation.

Georgia borders Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and how the Turks respond will be key here.