* Food safety watchdog to check McDonald's outlets acrossRussia
* Businessmen say move is retaliation again Westernsanctions
* U.S.-Russia ties soured by Ukraine crisis
* Other Western brands now seen vulnerable (Releads, adds quotes, Branson letter)
By Polina Devitt and Alissa de Carbonnel
MOSCOW, Russia, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursdayit was investigating dozens of McDonald's restaurants,in what many businessmen said was retaliation for Westernsanctions over Ukraine they fear could spread to other symbolsof Western capitalism.
Russia's food safety watchdog said it was looking atpossible breaches of sanitary rules at McDonald's, but many inthe business community said it was a reflection of thedeterioration in relations between Russia and the West overUkraine, where pro-Russian separatists in the east of thecountry are fighting against government forces.
"Obviously, it's driven by the political issues surroundingUkraine," said Alexis Rodzianko, President and CEO of theAmerican Chamber of Commerce in Russia.
"The question on my mind is: Is this going to be a knock onthe door, or is this going to be the beginning of a campaign?"
Russia earlier this month slapped bans on Western foodimports after Washington and Brussels imposed economic sanctionsin response to Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea regionand its backing of the separatists.
In a sign of growing frustration at the threat to trade,several mid-tier Russian businessmen signed off on a letter byBritish entrepreneur Richard Branson calling on politicians tostop the conflict.
"We, as business leaders from Russia, Ukraine and the restof the world, urge our governments to work together to ensure wedo not regress into the Cold War misery of the past," the lettersaid.
McDonald's, which opened its first store in Russia in thedying days of the Soviet Union in 1990, is a very visible symbolof American capitalism in Russia, where it now has 438 branches.
The food safety watchdog ordered the closure of four of itsrestaurants in Moscow on Wednesday, including that first Russianbranch, which is the busiest in the firm's global network.
The watchdog said on Thursday it was starting unscheduledchecks in several Russian regions, including Sverdlovsk andTatarstan in the Urals, the central Voronezh region and theregion around the capital.
"We are aware of what is going on. We have always been andare now open to any checks," a McDonald's Russia spokeswomansaid.
VULNERABLE BUSINESSES
So far no other prominent Western brand has reported comingunder extra scrutiny from the Russian authorities, though therewere Russian media reports that Jack Daniels was beinginvestigated. The whiskey producer said it would challenge anyaccusations about its quality.
Amrest, the Warsaw-listed holder of the Russian franchisesfor several other iconic U.S. brands -- Starbucks, KFC, PizzaHut and Burger King -- said last week it had experienced noproblems and was doing well.
"We are monitoring closely recent geopolitical developments,to make sure we can adapt to changing conditions and minimisebusiness risks," said AmRest's chairman Henry McGovern during ateleconference with investors last week.
Nevertheless, big foreign brands are viewed as vulnerable.
French bank Societe Generale published on Thursday aresearch note saying companies generating most revenues inRussia and therefore most exposed to political risks were BP, British American Tobacco, BASF,Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, Alstom andE.ON.
Even some of McDonald's rivals came to its defence.
"This is a major blow to relations between the twocountries," Mikhail Goncharov, the owner of Russian fast-foodchain Teremok, told RBC Daily, a newspaper.
"Even the Soviet Union was maintaining those relationsbecause the first McDonald's opened during the USSR times, andPepsiCo factories continued to function regardless ofpolitical crises," he added.
Since McDonald's first broke into Russia, it has for manyRussian consumers been overshadowed by hundreds of swanky Frenchand Japanese restaurants in the Russian capital, but it remainsa powerful symbol, and therefore a prominent target.
On Thursday, outside the shuttered restaurant on Moscow'sPushkin Square, the closure stirred patriotic sentiment amongsome people.
"They occasionally kick us with different sanctions. Whycan't we do something in return? Moreover, McDonald's is such asymbol of everything Western, I think it is a good symbolic stepthat shows that we have some teeth," said Ivan. (Additional reporting by Natalia Shurmina in Yekaterinburg andMaria Kiselyova, Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by WillWaterman)