Nina Khrushcheva, the great-granddaughter of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, is to open the this year’s Salzburg Festival, speaking on the role of the arts in times of war, crisis and hostility, the festival announced on Wednesday. Khrushcheva, an academic who lives and works in New York, has been critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin and in particular of the invasion of Ukraine. “Nina Khrushcheva has been analysing Putin’s behaviour and inconsistent Western responses to Russia for decades, not shying away from uncomfortable assessments and narratives,” festival artistic directo…