A majority of Russians hold President Vladimir Putin responsible for Russia's problems, according to the results of a Levada Center poll published Monday.

Putin is widely expected to announce his candidacy for elections next March which would give the president a fourth term. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose anti-corruption protests this year drew thousands onto the streets across the country, is barred from running because of a prior conviction he says is politically motivated.

Seventy-six percent of respondents said they held Putin responsible to at least some extent for the country’s problems, while 19 percent abdicated him of any responsibility.