The soliton represents one ofthe most important ofnonlinear phenomena in modern physics. It constitutes an essentially localizedentity with a set ofremarkable properties. Solitons are found in various areas of physics from gravitation and field theory, plasma physics, and nonlinear optics to solid state physics and hydrodynamics. Nonlinear equations which describe soliton phenomena are ubiquitous. Solitons and the equations which commonly describe them are also of great mathematical interest. Thus, the dis covery in 1967and subsequent development ofthe inversescattering transform method that...