We discuss basic properties of the Bäcklund transformations for the classical string in AdS space in the context of the null-surface perturbation theory. We explain the relation between the Bäcklund transformations and the energy shift of the dual field theory state. We show that the Bäcklund transformations can be represented as a finite-time evolution generated by a special linear combination of the Pohlmeyer charges. This is a manifestation of the general property of Bäcklund transformations known as spectrality. We also discuss the plane wave limit
