Paris (AFP) – Even during the darkest days of the Cold War in the 20th century, Russian opera and ballet stars still came regularly to the West for performances. But this time, things are different: a cultural boycott far more stringent is falling into place. In barely a week, some of the world’s leading dancers, opera singers and conductors have been stripped of their jobs in the West, their shows cancelled and careers curtailed, in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. “Even at the height of the Cold War, cultural exchanges between Russian, American and Europe…