many legs, which they use for swimming
and gathering food. Most krill have special
organs, or body parts, on their
Behind the red brick walls of the Kremlin
are many churches, palaces, and government
buildings.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Krill 87
underside that give off light. This makes
them visible at night.
Krill swim together in large groups
called swarms. Some swarms are so thick
that they make the water look pink.
Krill spend much of their time deep in
the ocean away from enemies. At night
they go to the water’s surface to feed on
plants or tiny animals. Krill are able to
go without eating for months at a time.
Fishers catch krill to use as food for
people and land animals. They are a rich
source of vitamin A.
#More to explore
Crustacean
Kuala Lumpur
Population
(2000 estimate)
1,297,526
Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia,
a country of Southeast Asia. It is the
largest city in Malaysia. It is also the
country’s center of business and culture.
In 1999 Malaysia’s government began
building a city called Putrajaya to be the
new capital.
The economy of Kuala Lumpur depends
on manufacturing and services such as
banking, health care, and tourism. Factories
in the city make computer parts,
electronics, furniture, foods, and other
products.
Kuala Lumpur was founded by Chinese
tin miners in 1857. The British soon
took over the area. In the late 1880s
Kuala Lumpur became the capital of a
region called the Federated Malay States.
In 1957 the western part of Malaysia
became independent. Kuala Lumpur
was its capital. The rest of Malaysia
became independent in 1963. Then
Kuala Lumpur became the capital of all
of Malaysia. The city grew very quickly.
#More to explore
Malaysia
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, is a terrorist
group in the United States. Terrorist
groups seek to achieve their goals by
creating fear through violence. The Klan
The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, were the world’s tallest buildings
when they were built in the late 1990s.
88 Kuala Lumpur BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
formed after the CivilWar ended in
1865. Its purpose was to frighten newly
freed African Americans and to take
away their rights. By the 1990s the Klan
had broken up into small groups, mostly
in the Southern states.
The early Klan was called the Invisible
Empire of the South. Its leaders had
such titles as GrandWizard, Grand
Dragon, and Grand Titan. Klan members
wore white robes and hoods to hide
their faces and to frighten people. They
went out at night to scare, whip, and kill
former slaves. Sometimes they burned
homes and barns. After their raids Klan
members often left behind a burning
cross as a symbol of the Klan.
The Klan’s membership went up and
down over the years. It reached a peak of
about 4 million members in the 1920s.
At that time the Klan’s list of enemies
grew to include Catholics, Jews, immigrants
(people from other countries),
and others.
The Klan grew again in the 1960s. It
was the time of the civil rights movement,
which worked to gain equal rights
for African Americans. Klan members
protested this movement by attacking
African Americans in the South.
Since then the number of Klan members
has fallen to a few thousand people. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
and other police groups have watched
the Klan and worked to prevent its
members from hurting people. Courts
have sent some Klan members to jail for
crimes that they committed many years
earlier.
..More to explore
African Americans • Terrorism
Kurd
The Kurds are an ethnic group that lives
mostly in a mountainous region called
Kurdistan. Kurdistan lies in southwestern
Asia where the countries of Turkey,
Iran, Syria, and Iraq meet. Kurds also
live in other nearby countries. They
speak a language called Kurdish.
Kurds have lived in the same territory
since prehistoric times. Early Kurds
moved from place to place while herding
sheep and goats. Some Kurds still bring
their animals to mountain pastures in
the summer and return to their villages
in winter. Many Kurds, however, are
farmers who stay in one place. Some
Kurds have moved to cities.
In the 600s most Kurds became followers
of the religion known as Islam.
People who practice Islam are called
Many Kurds now live in cities, but some still
lead traditional lives of animal herding.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Kurd 89
Muslims. There are two types of Muslims:
Sunnites and Shi!ites. Most Kurds
are Sunnites. They have had problems in
regions governed by Shi!ites.
Many Kurds want to have their own
country. The governments of those
countries in which they live—especially
Turkey and Iran—have sometimes tried
to force the Kurds to give up their language
and culture. The government of
Iraq drove millions of Kurds out of their
homes in the 1980s and 1990s. Kurds
have often rebelled against the governments
of Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. They
hoped to win political and cultural freedom.
#More to explore
Islam
Kush
The ancient kingdom of Kush (also
spelled Cush) ruled a region in Africa
south of Egypt. The region was then
called Nubia. Now it is a part of the
country of Sudan. Kush began as an
