The Stairway (Russian: Лестница, romanized: Lesnitsa) is a 1989 Soviet drama film directed by Aleksei Sakharov and based on the novella of the same name by Alexander Zhitinsky.
[3][4] The story takes place in a Leningrad communal apartment Pushkinskaya Street, 17.
Alya’s former partner escaped by cheating on her and climbing out of her neighbor Larisa’s window, which led directly to the street.
When Vladimir attempts to escape using a rope from the fifth floor, Alya’s uncle Mikhail, who has arrived from Tula, mistakes him for a thief and intervenes.
Exhilarated by a sense of freedom, he slips and nearly falls but manages to grab a shaky ledge at the last moment.