First Regency
Sture came to power after the death of Charles VIII and consolidated his position through the victory of Brunkeberg. For a quarter of a century he ruled Sweden making the regency almost an office in its own right. He was supported by the peasantry and the lower nobility, wisely playing them out against the high-ranked nobility and managing a clever act of balance towards the Danish demands of reunion.
At the Battle of Brunkeberg in 1471, he triumphed against Swedish and Danish forces in the support of Christian I. This victory elevated Sture to the position of a national savior. The sculpture St. George and the Dragon created by the German sculptor Bernt Notke in Storkyrkan in Stockholm was raised to commemorate the battle.
In 1493, the Danish and Norwegian king, Hans (also called John I), formed an alliance with Ivan III of Russia against Sten Sture. From 1495 to 1497, Sten successfully repelled a Russian invasion of Finland. However, he subsequently fell out with the majority of the Swedish nobility, most prominently Svante Nilsson, and the Swedish council of the realm declared him to be deposed as regent on 8 March 1497.
Read more about this topic: Sten Sture The Elder