BOSTON -- As the Russian-Georgian confrontation intensifies overseas, worried Boston-area residents from Russia and Georgia are holding little hope that the world community will intervene to help halt the conflict.

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For those residents with loved ones and friends living in the two countries, the concern is unmistakable. The Boston area is home to large Russian and Georgian populations clustering in Allston, Brighton, Roslindale and Brookline, where it has been estimated that as much as 10 percent of the population speaks Russian.

Dan Rodkin speaks both Georgian and Russian and has lived in both countries. He is a Russian citizen and currently rabbi at the Shaloh House, a Jewish Day School and Russian Community Center in Brighton, Mass.

Rodkin once served as a camp counselor in Georgia, and has friends on both sides of the conflict. He said it's tough watching the war unfold in his homeland.

“When I grew up, it was one country, so it’s very painful to see what’s going on. The conflict sounds very scary."

With every passing hour, Rodkin worries about the safety of friends on both sides of the fight. He's hoping for a peaceful ending to the fighting, especially since wars can spill over and drag others into the fray.

“When superpowers are involved, it can lead to sub-issues, as Russia has become upset with Israel for siding with Georgia,” Rodkin said.

While Rodkin hopes for a quick ending, he also knows that for him, personally, there cannot be a true winner.

“I have very mixed feelings about [the conflict],” he said. “I actually went to Georgia to be the head counselor at a Jewish camp, so I have friends in Georgia.”

Marshall Goldman, author of the book “Putin, Power and the New Russia” and a professor of economics at Wellesley College, said diplomatic efforts will be in vain because the U.S. has continued commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and European powers are keeping their distance.

“The U.S will not get involved, so there’s not much we can do. And there’s not much Europeans could or would do, and this is part of [Russian Prime Minister] Putin’s calculations. The rest of the world can only wave their fingers and say, ‘Russia’s a bully,'” Goldman said.

A secondary issue is also likely to arise internally in Georgia, he said, as public outcries over Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili’s handling of the conflict mount, Goldman said.

“With time, it will set off internal strife within Georgia, as they discover they are worse off than they were before,” Goldman said. “Even when the hostilities cease, that won’t restore the buildings and lives that have been lost.”

Rodkin echoed Goldman’s view that there will be minimal to no intervention from other countries.

“Sometimes war can evolve over such a small issue, and here it looks like nobody can come and be involved -- because a superpower is involved and thousands are killed every day,” Rodkin said.

A Boston-area Russian business owner who did not want to be identified because of his local business connections recalled a recent time when relations between Russia and the former Soviet Republic were more friendly.

“In Georgian grocery stores, more than half of what they receive is from Russia. It just used to be such a close relationship,” he said. “Even today, everyone in Georgia still speaks Russian as a second language and it’s taught in schools because of its economic and political importance in Georgia’s history.”

He continued, “It’s pure politics. The people who die every day in Georgia, they have nothing to do with politics -- they are women and children. It doesn’t matter who’s right; people are not supposed to die. I feel terrible about it. These civilians are personal friends.”

Writer's note: A previous version of this story misquoted Rabbi Dan Rodkin as saying, "America has become upset with Israel for siding with Georgia." Rodkin said it is Russia, not America, that became upset.