From what time we have such currency as «rebels»?

I don't live in Moscow but the prices written above are similar.

Prices:

A liter of milk — 10 roubles (30 roubles for a long-life pack);
a bus ticket — 5 roubles (7 and 10 roubles for taxi-bus);
one hour dial-up internet — 14 roubles;
a book — 70-200 roubles;
a simple cell-phone — 3000-5000 roubles ( 5 roubles per minute, send SMS — 1.5 roubles (depends on tariff, of course));
railway ticket to Moscow (950 km) — 800-1000 roubles for a comfortable place and 300-400 for a non-comfortable;
one kg of sausage — 60-120 roubles (and more);
a pair of socks — 15 roubles;
a tie — about 120 roubles;
a pirate CD — 70-80 roubles;
a legal DVD — don't remember exactly but about 500 roubles;
Nvidia GeForce4 FX5200 128Mb DDR AGP8x, TV-out, DVI — 2500 roubles.

Salaries:

A teacher — 3000-5000 roubles;
a metalworker — 10000 roubles;
a director of an enterprise — depends but not less than 15000 roubles;
a consultant in a shop — up to 8000 roubles;
an accountant — 15000-30000 roubles and more.

There are almost no beggars in my town (though I didn't see them much in Moscow too). Usually it is kind of swindlers, old or disabled men, and refugees from south regions.

Russians are quite knowledgeable about the world, I think. News show us very many various things. Though I suspect that many essential details (especially in politics) can be hidden. Main news on TV were (and are) Iraq, European Union, China's astronaut, ISS, Schwarzenegger as a deputy (or such). But when CNN and BBC were talking about Liberia our media have shown us nothing about this. Only after month or so they made some small reports. I was speaking about TV programs but, of course, in newspapers and especially in internet you can find anything you want.