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It's been more than two decades since the former Soviet Union broke apart, and to the dismay of Russia, many of the 15 former Soviet republics have spun away from Moscow's orbit.

Now Ukraine — with 46 million people — has a chance to say goodbye to its Soviet past and align itself both economically and culturally with the European Union.

Outside the former Karl Marx Chocolate Works, semi-trucks are ready to deliver loads of candy sold throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The factory, in a shabby industrial neighborhood of Kiev, now belongs to Roshen, a giant Ukrainian company with about 3,000 workers and more than $1 billion in business a year.

Inside the factory it is bright, modern and scrupulously clean. Workers in lab coats and hospital-style hair bonnets monitor machines that wrap individual chocolates in foil, with a neat twist at each end.

The glittering treats that tumble off the assembly line were popular in Russia, accounting for 5 percent of the market. That is until Russia's consumer protection agency banned them. The Russians claim they found a hazardous chemical in the chocolate, but no other country has reported any problem.

The timing of the ban has raised suspicions. Ukraine must decide whether to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union this month. Roshen's owner, Petro Poroshenko, is a strong supporter.

"Our opportunity to sign an association agreement with the European Union is just the gate of possibilities, and [it happens] once in several decades," Poroshenko says.

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The United Nations elected 14 members to the Humans Rights Council on Tuesday, but some of the picks are seen as controversial.

Among them are Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China, which Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, says don't reach the high standards that council members should have. She points out that Beijing and Moscow have yet to respond to 13 requests for visits by human rights inspectors, some dating back to 2006.

"They're not allowing the very council they sit on to do its job effectively," Hick says. "States like China and Russia are powerful states that exercise their power in a way to influence others at the council, as well as make it very hard to engage on issues that they don't want reviewed."

She says although the U.S. did not allow private interviews with detainees at Guantanamo Bay, China and Russia stand out in the sheer number of unmet requests. She also cites cases such as Russia's anti-gay legislation and China arresting human rights activists and dissidents, and says such countries should not have run unopposed for the council.

"They waltzed into their seats," Hicks says. "That Russia is able to run unopposed is a real travesty."

U.N. Humans Rights Council members can serve for six years before standing for reelection. China, Russia and Saudi Arabia have all served for the past six years, and they ran unopposed to retain their seats, which are organized by region.

None of the countries' respective U.N. missions responded to interview requests by deadline, but Wang Min, deputy permanent representative of China, told Radio Television Hong Kong that China's re-election "fully shows that the international community acknowledges China's huge achievements in upholding human rights."

The new members start serving January 1 next year.

Fine Art

Dead Bees, Nail Clippings And Priceless Art In Warhol's 'Time Capsules'

Rapper and producer Sean "Diddy" Combs, director Robert Rodriguez, and basketball legend Magic Johnson each now has his own new cable TV networks. Their channels were part of a merger deal Comcast made with the FCC to give a shot to new networks owned by African Americans, Latinos and others.

Last month, Combs threw on his classic Puff Daddy alias to welcome millennial viewers to his new music network, Revolt.

"This is really happening, people," the rapper said at the launch. "A boy from Harlem is really standing on a stoop in Brooklyn launching a network worldwide. The revolution is now being televised."

Next month, Rodriguez will introduce young English-speaking Latinos to El Rey, on which he's partnered with Spanish-language network Univision to produce an action-packed lineup, including a new Latino James Bond-style series.

"El Rey is going to be the king of content," he says. "Iconic, addictive, exciting, visceral television."

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