We study solitons in the two-dimensional defocusing nonlinear Schroedinger equation with the spatio-temporal modulation of the external potential. The spatial modulation is due to a square lattice; the resulting macroscopic diffraction is rotationall
y symmetric in the long-wavelength limit but becomes anisotropic for shorter wavelengths. Anisotropic solitons -- solitons with the square (x,y)-geometry -- are obtained both in the original nonlinear Schroedinger model and in its averaged amplitude equation.
