The Salzburg Festival has announced the keynote speaker for the 2024 opening ceremony,

The festival said that Nina Khrushcheva will do the honors and will “address one of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s main premises that beauty will save the world. In the current political and cultural environment of war, crisis, animosity, and division, what is the role of art?”

In a statement, Artistic Director Markus Hinterhäuser said, ‘‘Nina Khrushcheva has been analyzing Putin’s behaviour and inconsistent Western responses to Russia for decades, not shying away from uncomfortable assessments and narratives. As a critic of Putin who is directly affected by this situation, she holds up a mirror to both the ‘worst barbarian’ and faltering democracies, while also striving to respectfully engage with Russian culture. ’

Born in Moscow, Khrushcheva currently lives in New York and has been an expert voice on contemporary Russian history and politics and has been a critic of Vladimir Putin’s regime. She is a professor of International Affairs at The New School in New York City, and a Contributing Editor to Project Syndicate.